lucy the mutant
by barcode-babe-210
Summary: When you think 'saver of the world', you think big, bulky warrior guy, right? yeah, well, think more along the lines of teenage mutant with boy-deficiencies. The world is doomed! MA, ococ, i suck at summaries-read and find out! RandR!
1. lucy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Life is so perfect sometimes. It has to be, to make up for all of the really bad stuff. You have to learn to walk, you have to learn to talk...you have to wear that totally ridiculous hat that your grandmother bought you. And when you get older, even though you get to choose your hats, you don't get to choose what they put in those meatballs in the cafeteria, or...when all of that little stuff stops mattering.

  


Life goes on, and so do I, because you just have to learn to deal. Let's just think of the day that I came to TC as big, ugly hat day

-Luce

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


The squeal of tires and the sounds of government issue cars awake Lucy, a very beautiful, very tired-looking teenage girl from a light sleep. She bolts upright, gasping, knowing that they're coming for her. Again.

  


She grabs a black backpack from the floor and swings it on her back. She listens-they're getting closer. Grabbing a knife from beside her bed, she runs for the window. She takes a glance down the seven stories to the ground to make sure that all's clear, then jumps without a second thought, concentrating all of her energy on not falling, on slowing down. She feels the resistance of the air greaten and she opens her eyes, slowly floating down onto the darkened streets of Seattle.

  


Still in her thin, cherry print pajamas, she runs down the street, her life at stake, looking for signs of anything suspicious. ~Running, always running. Don't stop. Can't stop, they'll catch me. Don't want to be found, can't be found. Never stopping, always running. God, don't let them get me.~

  


The freezing winter air tears cruelly through her thin pajamas, biting at her skin. She can hear them running behind her. They're catching up, she can hear their ragged breathing. She turns down onto a sidestreet that looks relatively safe and runs to the back door of a club. She glances at the sign, barely able to make the word Crash out through the tears from the wind blowing in her eyes and the blinding pain of using her powers to that extent. She stumbles in and sits down at a table, trying to fit in. It looks like mostly younger people are here, people in their mid-twenties or so. 

  


The bar's pretty empty, with two or three tables full and a few people sitting at the bar. The table next to hers is full, and she tries to relax, doing a horrible job of it. She slips the knife sheath by her side, hiding it.

  


~You can't keep running forever, Luce. They'll find you, and hurt you. Just like they did to everyone important to you. They'll keep looking, not stopping until they find you. Then they'll hurt you, kill you, just like they did to them.~ A lone tear slides down her cheek, and she wipes it away, trying to blink back the others that follow.

  


A very handsome man at the next table has been watching the young girl for a while. He knows that she's in trouble, was probably either chased out or ran away tonight. She's shivering, even in Crash's warm temperature, but who could blame her in that tiny cherry t-shirt and those flimsy pajama pants. She's beautiful, with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. But her eyes are haunted, and they look too old and hurt to belong to such a young girl, probably seventeen or eighteen, tops. He saw her hide the knife, and realizes that she must really be in trouble. She's scared, he realizes as she wipes a tear away.

  


"You ok Alec?" a brunette asks from beside him.

  


"Yeah, Max. I'll be back in a sec." he says, giving her a trademark smirk. She smiles back.

  


He walks over to the girls, who sees his shadow and tightens her grip on the knife, ready for a fight.

  


"Are you all right?" he asks gently, not wanting to scare her.

  


"Yeah, I'm fine." she says, her voice throaty, trying not to cry. He doesn't believe her, nobody ever does if you just say fine. She looks up at him, revealing a gash on her lip and cheek that's just started healing. ~uh oh, this might take a while.~

  


"Mind if I take a seat?" he asks, pulling up a chair.

  


"Aren't you here with friends?" she asks, trying to steer him away. ~You've gotten enough people into trouble, don't bring any more people into your messed up life.~ Alec looks over to Max, OC, and Sketchy. OC's feigning interest in some stupid story that Sketch's telling. Max is looking at him curiously. He smiles at her reassuringly, knowing that she's worried about the girl he's talking to.

  


"Yeah, but they can wait. You look like you've had it hard." he says. She looks down. "How old are you? 17? 18?"

  


"16." she says, not knowing why she's answering questions from a total stranger. She feels comfortable with Alec, and he wants to help her. ~That's so young to be all alone. I wonder why she ran away.~

  


"And your name is..?" he asks, not wanting to just start questioning someone without knowing their name.

  


"Lucy." she says, looking down again. "Lucy Witkopp." 

"I'm Alec. Now, would you like to tell me how you got that gash on your cheek?"he says gently, asking casually, trying not to force her to say anything she doesn't want to.

  


"I can't...you won't believe me." she says, closing her eyes in frustration. "Nobody believes me, not until I show them what I can do." she says in an above-whisper, her eyes clouded with frustration and anger.

  


"I promise you, I'll believe you." he says, sincerity in his eyes. Lucy looks up.

  


"Promise?" she asks, and Alec nods. She sighs and starts her story, "Well, I'm not completely normal. In fact, I'm not even slightly normal. I'm...different." Alec tried to hide his shock that there's still x's outside the fence, even after a year of Terminal City being generally accepted. 

  


"They're after me. They killed them, mutilating my family beyond recognition." she continues, her eyes filling up with tears. ~Oh, god...there were other units? I thought we'd tracked them all! What series is she? X7? X8? Oh, my god...how could we have not known?~ "They've been tracking me. I've been running, but they're getting better. They don't stop coming. They're..." Lucy stops mid-sentence, gasps and pales visibly.

  


"They're what, Lucy?" Alec asks urgently.

  


"They're here." she whispers, frozen to where she is, her eyes glued on the door, where about fifteen suits have walked into Crash. 

  


"Don't worry, Lucy. Max and I've got your back. You take the ones near the bar, and we'll get the rest." he says, then runs across the room at a pace greater than humanly possible. He was joined by Max, and they immediately began to kick some ass.

  


Lucy ran over to the bar and took out the first suit she met with a kick to the groin and a punch in the temple. ~Wow, those kick boxing and Women's Defense classes paid off~ She jumps up to the bar, the knife at her side, to get a better view. The two other good guys are fighting off about six of the evil cronies-each. There are two more by the bar that need to be taken care of. Lucy kicks a man under the chin and watches him crumple to the floor. She looks around for the other man, but doesn't see him. Thinking that he went to go help his buddies by the door, who were getting their asses kicked, she jumps down, not seeing the man right behind her.

  


Alec sees the man standing behind Lucy and tries to warn her, but it's too late. The man grabs the knife from her unready hand and shoves it into her side. Lucy pales visible, and the man pulls out the bloodied weapon, grinning evilly until he's punched in the temple by Max.

  


Lucy leans against the wall behind her, clutching her wound. Her breath is coming in short, ragged gasps, and nausea overcomes her senses. Darkness tears at her mind, and she fights it off, just wanting to make sure that she gets her two saviors out of danger.

  


Alec and Max run to her side, and Max immediately starts to inspect the wound, needing to see how deep it is. She pries Lucy's hands away from the injury, which is bleeding a lot, and the girl grimaces in pain. Alec whispers words of encouragement to her.

  


"Lucy, you're doing great. Just hang in there, we'll get you help soon. We'll take you to our neighborhood. They won't ask questions." he says, trying to comfort her, but instead she looks panicked. 

  


"No, don't... Just...go. Now...please. I'm fine... it's..just a ...little scrape.. No big." she says with obvious effort. Her lies didn't fool anyone. Max gives him a look that says that they needed to get the girl out of Crash, now.

  


"Lucy, don't worry about us. We can handle it, but you need to come with us to take care of that hole the knife left in your stomach, so let's go." he says, looking at her seriously.

  


"I can't...put you in...more danger...I've caused...too...much hurt." she says, her eyelids drooping. Alec looks down at her injury. The innocent looking cherry-covered shirt is now forever marred with the crimson tinge of blood. Lots of it... the girl needs a doctor, and fast. Her beautiful blue eyes are shadowed with pain, and her hair is matted with blood from a blow to the head. The transgenics know that even transgens need a doctor at this point-well, at least the younger ones.

  


"I said don't worry. They'll be back in about two minutes with backup, so I suggest we leave this place. Don't worry, you'll be safe with us." he says, acting like a protective big brother. 

  


"Don't let them get me...please?" Lucy pleads, fear in her voice evident. ~What could scare a transgenic so bad? Poor girl~ thinks Alec. Tears roll down Lucy's face, and he wipes them off.

  


"I promise, Lucy." he assures her as he scoops her into his arms. Max grabs the girl's bag and opens the door for Alec. They head for the closest sewer entrance to TC, and Lucy fades into the nightmares of her former life that haunt her.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A/N

Hello, my lovely readers. I just wanted to tell ya thanx for reading. This is just an intro, but I really want to know whatcha think. Hope it's not stupid or anything. I'm planning on posting again soon. So, happy reading, and oh! One more thing- please drop me a line, I don't care what it says (as long as there are no clowns mentioned and there is no TOTAL bashing of my story), and I'll luv ya forever!!!!!

  


Molly :D

  



	2. haunted by the past

Thanks to everyone who reviewed- luv ya lots! Sorry I couldn't update...my computer has this problem where it hates me and doesn't like to let me upload stuff, but I'm trying, guys!

  


Hope you like! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!!! :D

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"So, what're you going to do after school?" Michelle asks curiously. She wants to go party, but knowing her best friend, Lucy will just stay home.

  


"I would, but-" Lucy starts, and Michelle rolls her eyes. Lucy notes the yeah-right look on the other girl's face. "I would, but tonight's been declared official family night. So fun. Oh well, some bonding won't be bad for us."

  


"Please? Just for an hour?" Michelle pleads desperately, knowing that her parents won't let her go out alone.

  


"I don't know..." Lucy says, wanting to go.

  


"Just call the rents and ask, k?" Michelle says, happy she won the little spat.

  


"Fine, but it better be worth this." Lucy warns, knowing that she'll have a great time.

  


After begging for five minutes, Lucy finally got permission to go. The girls drove around town, flirting shamelessly with some hot guys they found for hours, just hanging out by the lake.

  


"I should get going." Lucy says, sad that she has to leave. Michelle nods, knowing that Lucy really does have to leave. 

  


The boy she was talking to, John, jumping at the chance to be alone with Lucy, who he's liked for a while. "I'll drive you home." he says, trying to be nonchalant.

  


"You sure, John? It's really not a big deal if you don't want to-my house is like ten minutes away if you walk." she says, not wanting to impose.

  


"Yeah, totally fine. I'm on curfew, too." he smiles.

  


Michelle gives Lucy a quick hug and then John helps her onto his motorcycle. They race off, Lucy giggling, her arms wrapped tightly around him. ~This is fun!~

  


But she stops smiling when they pull onto her road. "Stop!" she yells over the bike's roar, and the bike skids to a stop. She jumps off, scanning the crowd in front of the house for her family. When she doesn't see them, she starts running to her house, which is half on fire, the other half already incinerated, which is just now being controlled by the fire hoses.

  


A fireman grabs her around the waist, holding her back from running into the house. "No crossing the line, miss." ~Oh, god, are they ok? What if they didn't get out? No, positive thoughts, Lucy. Of course they made it out. But what if they didn't? Oh, god~

  


"Are they ok? Oh god, are they still in there?" she asks, her face ghastly pale.

  


"Oh, Lucy, I didn't realize it was you. The police would like to talk to you, and they can conta"

  


"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE POLICE! WHERE IS MY FAMILY, DAMMIT?!!?!" Lucy screams, hysterical, sobs wracking her body.

  


"Luce, you better go talk with the medics or the police. They know everything. I'm just putting out the fire." he says sincerely, his pity for the girl great. She nods, and he walks her over to the police cars, more scared than she's ever been in her life. John's presence is comforting, but not enough.

  


"This is the other daughter, Chief. She wants to know about her family." he says, giving the chief a look.

  


"Why don't we go someplace quieter?" he asks, steering the dazed Lucy away from the sirens, motioning for John to come along. He puts his arm around Lucy protectively, wanting to keep her from any gruesome details.

  


"Lucy, you family...they didn't make it." the chief says, wringing his hat in his hands. Lucy's breaths are shallow, and her eyes are unfocused. "They...they were killed before the fire." She pales even moreso, if that's possible, leaning on John for support.

  


"Why?" she asks, her voice barely audible. The chief pulls a yellowed, somewhat burnt piece of paper. 

  


"This was found on your lawn. It's addressed to you, Miss Sandeman." he says, and hands her the letter. She pulls the envelope open, still in shock that all of this is happening, and reads it through the tears that just won't stop.

  


`````````````````````````````````````````LETTER

  


Dear, dear Mutant,

  


I'm sorry we missed you. I were looking so forward to meeting you, in person, that is. 

It was a pleasure meeting your family, though. They were very hospitable. I only hope that you are as nice as they were. It's a shame that they had to be taken care of... no need to fret, though, mutant, I'm sure that you'll be seeing them soon. I left you a picture to remember them by.

  


I look forward to our next meeting. 

  


````````````````````````````````````````

She picks up a picture that fell onto the brown grass and examines it. ~Oh, my god.~ Unfocused eyes stare at her, and the bodies of her family lie on the ground, soaked in blood.

  


Lucy looks up from the picture, blinks, and falls to the ground in a dead faint. Ames White watches from a distance, knowing that her time will come...soon enough.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TC medical center

  


"Max, stop pacing, she'll be fine." Alec says from the uncomfortable waiting room chair. ~We've been waiting for about an hour, and there still hasn't been any news on the girl. I hope she makes it...we need some new faces in TC~

  


"Well, I'm just worried, about her. What could have scared her so bad? God, Alec, how could we not know of any more units? I thought we had them all accounted for." Max says, her emotion nearly tearing down the tough-girl front that she'd built up. She drops into a chair, exhausted.

  


"Max, how could we have possibly known? Manticore probably had at least one unit not recorded, just in case another would get out. For insurance- you know, government's big on covering up its mistakes, so they'd probably have a backup unit. We've done everything in our power, and look at how far TC's come." he says, giving her a hug. 

  


It's true. TC, once the makeshift shelter for genetic outcasts, is now a busy community. Transgenics, are now being accepted as human beings, and have opened up a large marketplace and artshop for the public, who adore transgenic art. Life's getting better for the genetically enhanced, that's for sure. Max sighs, knowing that Alec's right.

  


"Thanks, Alec, you're so sweet." Alec had become yery responsible over the past year, taking care of all the transgenics-he's her rock. She hugs him tighter.

  


"Don't forget smart, funny, extremely, incredibly good looking, and ladies magnet." he says, giving her the patented Alec smirk.

  


"I won't, along with arrogant, egotistical, annoying little-"

  


"Excuse me." says Sandy, an X5 who's the head doctor on staff. Alec and Max look up guiltily, Max blushing and Alec smirking. "The girl you brought in will be fine. The knife missed major arteries and organs, but cut pretty deep. The gashes on her head and face will heal fairly quickly, but this has been a lot to handle for her. She'll need rest, and a lot of it." she finishes.

  


"How long?" Alec says, concerned for the girl, who he somehow feels attached to.

  


"I don't know, but a while longer than it would take if it were any of us got injured like that." Sandy says, looking at the two in front of her.

  


"Why?" asks Max, worried, "Is she sick?"

  


"No," Sandy assures her, "but you need to ask her where she's from and about her unit. You can go in now, if you want. She's stable, but no mind games, you two." Sandy says, pretending to scold them. They grin and walk in, leaving Sandy in the hallway, glad that she didn't tell the girl's secret...not yet, at least. ~It's better if she tells them herself.~

  


They walk into Lucy's room , hands laced through each other's. Max smiles at how comfortable she is around him. ~I might even like him. Ok, I do like him...~ Max thinks, smiling a little. They both are oblivious to what this girl can do, not even expecting what's coming next.


	3. Save me, please

----------------------------------------------------Flashback

  


Lucy's eyes flutter open and bright lights stab at her eyes. "Ugh," she moans, then remembers what happened. She sits up, looking around frantically, hoping that it was all just a dream. A man walks through the door.

  


"Who are you?" she asks coldly, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  


"Agent Ames White. I've been watching you, Lucy." he says, his voice filled with mocking. ~So he's the dirty bastard who killed them.~ She can't find the strength to yell, and only asks, "Why?"

  


"You are one very special girl, Lucy. We know your secret, and we don't like people like you messing with our plans, so we have to take care of you. Your family had to go, too-they knew too much. But you got away, Lucy, but we brought you back." he says putting an emphasis on her name, like it's a dirty word.

  


"Were they in pain?" Lucy asks, praying with all her might that they were dead before they felt the pain. 

  


"They were dead before the fire started, if that's what you mean." he says dismissively, then moves on to the next subject. "We will be studying you, seeing how you react to certain situations. The Conclave needs to know how your powers work, and if mutants can heal rapidly." he finishes, looking bored. He walks over to the door and holds it open for a doctor, who's carrying a metal tray filled with shiny, scary-looking instruments.

  


"We're gonna have Some fun." Ames says, smirking. A blade cuts across her cheek deeply, then moves to slice open her arm.

  


"You evil bastard...you didn't have to kill them. Why?" Lucy asks, blood dripping down her face.

  


"Business." he says, no emotion in his voice whatsoever. ~I never did like Jamie much.~ he thinks idly.

  


The doctor keeps slicing her skin, leaving trails of blood snaking down her body. "Sir?" the doctor says, looking at White. Ames looks at him. "We can't slice her too much, or she'll be exhausted for the other tests we have." he says, making up an excuse to stop. In truth, he feels sorry for the girl in front of him. She's just a child, after all. No one deserves that. ~His own family. Sick.~

  


"True," White says, contemplating the information, "You can resume your work tomorrow."

  


"Yes, sir." the doctor says and walks out of the room, leaving the metal tray of now-bloodied tools. Ames looks at the girl, who's trying to free her wrists from the restraints. There are tears in her eyes, but she's trying to blink them back.~She's pretty brave for a girl from suburbia~ Ames thinks to himself, already bored.

  


"Goodnight, Lucy. Sweet dreams." he says coldly and walks out of the room. A moment later, the lights flicker off, and Lucy is left alone, crying in the dark with no one to help her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End Flashback

  


"Max, something's wrong with her." Alec says from beside Lucy's bed. Max, who's looking out the window into the snowy night, reminicsing of her horrible past, sighs.

  


"You mean besides the fact that she was sliced open and stabbed?" Max says, feeling guilty and sorry for the girl. Alec looks down at Lucy, who's thrashing on the bed, mumbling incoherently.

  


"No, something's wrong with her. Should I wake her up, but I heard that can make them dangerous." he says, looking worriedly at the poor girl, who's trapped by her past in nightmares she can't escape.

  


"Alec, we're Manticore, I think we can handle a teenage girl."she says. Max turns around to look at what's worrying Alec, only to see Lucy curled into the fetal position, a pained look on her face that would make even the most heartless person feel extreme sadness for this girl, and all she's been through in her short life. Tears spill onto her already wet cheeks, and no one can save her from the memories burned into her brain.

  


Max rushes to her side and gently shakes her shoulders, not wanting to scare her anymore than she already is. Max tries to wake her, too, calling, "Lucy, wake up! Come on, Lucy!"

  


"No, you didn't have to! I hate you, White! Don't hurt me...please." Lucy yells to the silent room, screaming at first, and then trailing into a whisper, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, terror written on her face. Max and Alec glance at each other at the mention of White, then back to Lucy, trying vainly to comfort the girl dead to the world, lost in her nightmares.

Lucy's eyes fly open, revealing large, blue pools of hurt and anger, a soldier's mask, one both haunting and familiar to Max and Alec. Lucy lets out a bloodcurdling scream and her body goes rigid. The whole room is blindingly white for a few seconds, and Lucy starts hovering above the bed, the bright light coming from her. It surrounds her, like a shield, protecting her from her dreams. As the bright light grows, so does the effect Lucy was having on the room. Everything starts hovering, but just for a moment, and then...BANG! Max and Alec are thrown across the room, Max hitting the window ledge that she formerly was sitting on, and Alec is thrown into the door with a thud. Lucy's scream dies down, and the light fades. She falls back onto the bed, unconscious. Everything that was near Lucy is either obliterated or on the opposite side of the room.

Max and Alec look at each other, dumbfounded. ~WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?~ crosses both of their minds before they composed themselves and blur to Lucy's side. She looks worse for the wear, and she's unconscious again. Alec pulls a shard of wood from his shoulder, and Max removes a piece of glass from her stomach, the vase that it was formerly now just shattered pieces on the floor. 

"How did she do that? I didn't think that Manticore could conjure up something that powerful." Max says, not knowing what to think of the seemingly-harmless teenager's powers.

"That's the thing, Maxie. I don't think they could." Alec says, trying to process what just happened.

Max thinks about what he just said, and realizes the meaning of it.

"Are you saying that she isn't Manticore?" Max asks. ~How could she not be a transgenic? How else would she have those powers.~ "But Manticore had the Special Project division. Couldn't they have severely altered the DNA of the SP's?" (A/N: Special Project for all you who don't do abbreviations)

Alec shakes his head.

"I've seen all of the SP's at TC, and I haven't seen one with the power that Lucy has. That's a whole new level of power, Max." he says, looking at her. He puts his arm around her, and they sit down on the edge of the bed, waiting for Lucy to wake up, for their questions to be answered. 

After a half an hour, they leave, needing to check on the Command Center and everything else that the leaders of the City need to do. Alec and Max stand up and take one last look at Lucy, who's still lying there, dead to the world. Alec brushes a stray hair from her face. "We'll be back as soon as we can, Luce. I promise." Max says, using the girl's favorite term. They walk out of the room holding hands, both wondering just what this girl's been through, and who the hell hurt her so bad.

Lucy is left alone in the dark, surrounded in a dreamless sleep. Neither of the transgenics notice the person slip into Lucy's room as they walk away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

Dun, dun dun!!! Hey guys! I don't know how often I'll be updating- I'm in the spring musical (it's Clue!), and practice runs late some nights. Oh, and my guidance counselors decided that Molly'd be a great promoter for my school, so I'm going to all of the nearby private grade schools flaunting my school pride. Oh, god....

Well, hope you liked it. I know it's a little morbid and gross, but I thought I needed to show you how Lucy was treated so that you can understand her fear. I luv ya for always if you review, you know, so hit that little purple button! Come on, I know ya wanna!

Molly ;)


	4. some things are better forgotton

A/N: I hope that you guys like it! 

  


DISCLAIMER: not mine, blahblahblah.....but it will be mine! Mwahhahahahahahaha!!! ....if only....

  


Moll :D

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TC Command Center

Max and Alec walk in, both still slightly shaken from Lucy's power. Alec's arm was wrapped around Max, who is lost in her thoughts about what Lucy can do. Mole, the very lizardish manager of the Command Center, sees the couple and heads over to them.

  


"Hey Max, Alec. You two look like you've just seen a ghost. What happened?" he asks, showing concern, a rare event for him. Max and Alec glance at each other warily.

  


"A girl was brought here, Lucy. She's at the med center right now." Max beings, then pauses, not sure how to word Lucy's powers. Mole gives her a look, and she immediately knows what he is thinking. "Don't worry, Mole, she's on our side. The thing is, though, we're not sure if she's Manticore or not." The lizard-man contemplates that.

  


"So, what you're saying is that this girl, uh.." he says, searching for the name. Max helps him out, and he carries on. "That this girl, Lucy, has more power than a transgenic? That's...whoa." He looks over at Dix, who's busy fixing up some computers. "Dix, come over here for a second." The little deformed man comes over, smiling at them.

  


"What's up guys? Whoa, you all look like something bad's going down. Is White at it again?" he asks, obviously sick of Ames' lame attempts at ruining TC. "He should have given up while he still had some dignity, but no, he just had to try one more time...." Max, Alec, and Mole look at each other, amused at the little man having a rant.

  


Max squeezes Alec's hand and looks over at him, nearly laughing at his feeble attempt to hold back his laughter. Not able to take any more, she interrupts the misshapen man's nonstop ranting. "No, Dix, it's not that. We brought a girl that we assumed to be a transgen back to TC, but it turns out that she isn't from any units that we've contacted or looked up. She's a mystery." The squat man thinks for a minute.

  


"Do you have anything that would identify her? Anything at all- an id, a sector pass, anything at all?" Alec's face lights up as he remembers the one important detail that they overlooked.

  


"She had a backpack with her- a black one. Maybe that has something we could use." he suggests, hoping that it will be helpful. Dix smiles brightly.

  


"Great. You two go get the bag for me, and then we'll get started on the search." he says before turning back to his computer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TC Medical Center

Lucy opens her eyes, afraid that she might not be dreaming. Once she determines that she isn't in any place associated with the Familiars, she surveys the room that she's, for the time being, stuck in.

  


It's hospital-y white, but still kind of homey, so she knows that it probably isn't some underground, evil-plan making sleezball that has her captive. Again. In fact, she's pretty sure that she could leave at any time, judging from the friendliness of the room. 

  


Or, at least it used to look friendly. Lucy's gaze falls on the shattered vase, and the various broken things around the room. Oh shit, I did it again. Damn nightmares. God, I need to keep them under control. Oh no!! What if someone saw? I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm so dead... 

  


Footsteps coming down the hallway startle her, and she falls back into the pillows, not knowing that Max already saw her sitting up and awake. She pretends to be asleep as Max and Alec look around their room. Max whispers to Alec about Lucy's not being actually asleep in a whisper so low only X's can hear. Alec turns on the light next to Lucy's bed on the lowest setting, but it still shocks her eyes.

  


"Lucy, wake up. Lucy..." Max says softly, waiting for the girl to stop pretending. She looks at Alec, giving him the go ahead. 

  


"Um, Lucy? Yeah, you might want to work on your timing a bit more. You see, we saw you examining your room on the way down the hall. So, you can stop fake sleeping any time." 

  


Lucy tosses a little, then yawns and sits up. "God, you two should know better than to wake up a sleeping teenager- I've heard some vicious stories." Max and Alec glance at each other, liking this girl already.

  


"If you wouldn't mind me asking, where the hell am I?" Lucy asks, trying to be polite, but it comes out sounding rather blunt. The smirk on Alec's face grows as he wonders what it would be like with a girl like Max running around, seeing as this girl reminds him of her.

  


"You're in TC. Welcome, have fun, blah, blah, woof, woof. Now, the real reason we're here is to ask you how the hell you did that thing." Max says. Lucy looks embarrassed and shy, and she tries to play dumb.

  


"What thing?" she asks innocently, trying to sound convincing but failing horribly.

  


"The light showy, exploding the room thing." Alec describes for her. Her face falls, and she knows that it's over.

  


"I don't know how I do it or where it came from, but one day I started to do weird things when I got really emotional. It was like my whole world changed. I started to look over my shoulder everywhere I went, never really letting my guard down enough to have fun. I tried to be normal, to fit in, but I didn't feel like I did." she says, remembering with pain her past life, and its bitter end.

  


"Lucy, you aren't Manticore, are you?" Alec asks. She looks confused for a moment, then a little scared.

  


"No, but if you're another covert military operation set on killing me, you might want to get ready for a fight. Just ask Ames White." she retorts angrily, then smiles a bit at the memory of dear old Ames with blood gushing all over his face.

  


Max and Alec look at each other ~How the hell is this girl connected to the Familiars?~ Max recovers first, "No, we don't want to hurt you. We're transgenics, so we're pretty open to difference. Now, tell us how you know White." 

  


Lucy closes her eyes, trying to push back the horrible images that come to mind. "Okay...this might take a while."

  


_Her family dead, killed out of pure hate. ~_It was my fault~__

  


_Shiny metal knives covered in blood lying on the table, waiting to be used. _~I deserved it as punishment~__

  


_The fire. _~If only I would have come home sooner, they would have just killed me~__

  


_Blood...so much blood._ ~It's everywhere...never ends.~

  


"Lucy, are you alright? You don't have to tell us." Max's voice snaps her out of her thoughts. Lucy shakes her head.

  


"It's alright. I need to tell someone." she says, opening her eyes to reveal unshed tears. "He-he killed my family. They said that it was a fire, but they were dead before the fire started. I got a letter, telling me that they-that they know, and would find me, too. I ran, and didn't stop...but they got better at chasing, and found me. I was captured, but I escaped a few days later. I got out, but wasn't strong enough to travel, so I hid. But they still found me. I ran to that bar-Crash?" she says, looking at Max and Alec for confirmation. They nod, and she continues, "-And I almost got caught again." she says. She lifts her gaze to meet theirs. In a throaty voice, she says, "Thank you, thank you so much. I'd rather die than go back to that- that place."

  


Max remembers Brin saying that before she was taken away. She looks Lucy up and down, noticing various scars and deep cuts along her arms, certain that there are more under the borrowed gray tank top that she has on, in addition to the gash on her face and the stab wound in her stomach. ~This girl's been through hell. Damn, I don't even know if I could make it through that.~

  


"How long ago were you taken captive?" she asks before she can stop herself. Lucy, too, looks at the scarring cuts and sighs.

"About three weeks. I got out ten days ago." she says, then laughs a little. "Guess I won't ever wear short sleeves again." 

  


"Sure you will. Scars will fade, and you'll be as good as new." Max tells her, trying to make her feel better. 

  


Lucy's eyelids begin to droop, but she fights it, finally noticing that Alec has her bag. "Can I have my backpack, please?" she asks sarcastically, trying to sit up to grab it, but the pain from her most recent stabbing is too much and she falls into the pillows, whispering, "Damn those Familiars. I'm gonna kill them all just for fun." She then looks at Alec. "Please?" she asks, her voice softer this time.

  


"What's in this thing, anyway?" he asks, eyeing it cautiously.

  


"Well, give it to me and I'll show you." Lucy says, noting the look of skepticism on his face and rolling her eyes. "Yeah, like an injured, unarmed teenage girl is going to take on two fully grown, heavily trained transgenics. Give me a little credit, will ya?" 

  


Alec hands the bag, but gets ready to fight, just in case she turns out to be an evil guy in a teenage girl's body. What? Stranger things have happened. 

  


Lucy takes the bag from him and leans her head back against the pillows, suddenly tired at the thought of sharing the memories trapped in the bag. Her eyelids droop, and before she can even open the bag, she falls asleep again. Max gently tugs the bag out of her arms and smiles slightly at the girl, who's smiling slightly in her sleep. She pulls up the blankets around Lucy's arms and hands the bag to Alec, who swings it over his shoulder.

  


"Lucy, you are one confusing girl," Alec says, and turns off the light as they walk out of the room. Hand in hand, they walk to Max's office, determined to get some information on this girl.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Max's office

Alec opens the creaky wooden door and holds it open for Max. She mumbles a thanks and sits down on the couch, exhausted. Alec closes the door and sits next to her. He sets the bag in between them, and looks at her. 

  


"You ready?"he asks, trying to hide his concern for the girl he's liked ever since she kicked him into the door of that cell so long ago. He knows how emotional she is, underneath that tough girl attitude, and is worried. She nods, thankful for the concern on his part. He opens the bag, gently dumping out its contents on a rickety old coffee table.

  


"A small knife, a notebook, some clothes-the norm. Put anything that we could possibly get information out of in a pile on that side of the table." Alec instructs, and they start sifting through Lucy's only belongings left. 

  


They work like that for a while, and the pile grows. After they search through Lucy's things, they start on the now rather large pile. Alec picks up the notebook, which appears to be a journal of some sort, and reads aloud, "December 14, 2022./ It's getting harder to run...I don't know if I want to anymore. I can't handle the guilt much longer. At least I know that if I die I might have a chance to apologize to them...then again, after all of the pain I've caused, I'm pretty sure I'm hell-bound. /Sometimes I wonder if they're watching me, if they're all my guardian angels. But that's not happening, either. Why would they want to protect the person that caused their deaths. And even if they are watching, sometimes I secretly hope that they aren't, because then they see the failure that I am. I've lost my family, my hope, and, I probably will lose my life. /Just remember the letter. Don't ever forget the image."

  


The two look at each other in awe- this girl has had some really hard times. And what letter was she talking about? Max picks up a bent, slightly burned envelope as an answer to their question and opens it, pulling out a letter and a picture with writing on the back 

  


"What's so special about the- oh, god...Alec, look at this picture." she says, her eyes welling up at the image in front of her. He moves in closer to see the picture, his presence comforting Max. He takes the picture out of her hands and studies it.

  


Blood covers everything in the picture, making the mutilated bodies barely distinguishable. In the middle of the blood-stained room, a white note stands out. Written in blood are the words "You can't hide, mutant!" "Shit...I think we know how Lucy's acquainted with the Familiars."

  


He looks at Max, who's busy wiping tears discreetly from her eyes. Alec puts his arms around her, pulling her close, "It's okay, Maxie. Don't worry, we'll help her." She looks up at him, her eyes filled with pain and fear, betraying her.

  


"I-I can't believe they'd do this to a teenage girl...that's just sick." Alec nods. Max rests her head on his shoulder. "She's so strong, Alec. She's just a girl, really, and they've put her through hell itself. Maybe we can help her, and she'll stay here." she says, wanting to believe her half-hearted prediction.

  


"Everything's gonna work out perfect, Maxie. I promise we'll do all that we can." he tells her, kissing her forehead. Max closes her eyes, relishing being in Alec's arms, safe from anything that might harm her. Finally letting her guard down, for the first time since she can remember, she falls asleep.

  


They lay like that for a while, Alec toying with Max's hair, Alec thinking about Max and Max dreaming, before Alec realizes that she's sleeping. Knowing that Max desperately needs the little sleep she can get, he lays down on the couch, pulling her a little closer. He kisses her forehead and falls asleep, too, not knowing that she's dreaming of him, too.


	5. Meet Xander, the lovable X6 scoundrel!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Med Center, TC

  


Lucy turns a little in her sleep, then groans and regrets it when pain shoots up her side. She makes a face, and hears a faint laugh beside her bed. ~Oh, God, please don't let it be the Familiars~ She opens one eye a tiny bit, to see who is there, and the laughing just gets louder. Finally having had enough, and not being able to see properly while pretending to sleep, she opens her eyes.

  


Beside her bed sits a boy about her age, with dusty blond hair that was kind of longish (A/N– skater-hair...mmmm...hot.) His green eyes sparkled with mischief, and Lucy, though interested at this sudden turn of events, was annoyed by him laughing at her.

  


"Just what do you think you're laughing at, huh?" she asks, more grateful that the boy's there instead of either someone who wants to kill her or someone who's suspicious of her being evil, than annoyed. He tries to stop laughing, but just starts again, making Lucy smile, a thing which she feared she had forgotten. "You have got to be the worst actress that I've ever seen!!!! That whole 'let's only open part of my eye' thing? So discreet that even the people in the hallway would know you're not sleeping." 

  


He laughs softly again, and pulls out some gauze and a first aid kit from a nearby drawer. "I should probably start doing my job. I have a pretty good feeling that Sandy'll kill me if I slack off. Can you stand up?"

  


Lucy looks at him, slightly embarrassed, and tries to get up, knowing that she probably won't be able to. She leans on her hands and sits up, cringing in pain. The boy notices the pain masking her features and takes her arm just as soon as the pain hits her, pulling her up gently. "You okay?" he asks.

  


Lucy, being as stubborn as she is, nods, and continues to try to get up. In vain, of course, because the boy, still holding her arm, puts his other arm under her back and pulls her up carefully.

  


Lucy looks down at the floor, mortified by the total lack of strength she just showed in front in front of what she assumes is another transgenic. ~There goes the tough-girl act, all in one shot. Damn~ She looks up at him, straight into his amazingly piercing green eyes. They stare at each other just for a moment, but in that moment they both see into each other's minds. He sees loneliness, hurt, and she sees anger, and great power.

  


In that moment, they also realize how close they are, and the boy immediately, after making sure that Lucy's okay to sit up by herself, grabs the first aid kit. "By the way, I'm Xander." he says, motioning for her to take off her shirt so that he can bandage her side. 

  


"Lucy. What the gentleman you are, not even knowing me five minutes and already telling me to take off my clothes?" she asks lightly, taking off her shirt. Xander tries to hide his happiness at seeing the beautiful girl with her shirt off. "And don't even think of looking at my boobs." Lucy says, cutting off his silent compliments. He laughs a little.

  


"This may hurt a little." he warns her. "So I'll pour in on three, okay?" he looks up at her, and she

nods. "One..." he says, pouring the antiseptic onto the infected wound. She takes in a sharp breath. Lucy juts her bottom lip out a little in a pout.

  


"You said that you'd pour on three. Liar." she complains as he wraps her torso with gauze. 

  


"Yeah, but you would have moved away." he says, giving her a knowing smirk. She scoffs a bit, rolling her eyes in a way that reminded Xander of Max.

  


"First of all, you don't know that. Second of all, even if I would have, that doesn't make you any less of a liar." she says as he secures the gauze and stands up. He hands her the shirt she had shed, and she puts it on, grimacing a bit as she moves. She sit down and leans back on her elbows, both tired and in pain.

  


"Okay, it's official. Being gutted is _really_ not a good idea." she says lightly. Xander smirks at Lucy, glad that she has a sense of humor, unlike many of the transgenics. She clutches her stomach inconspicously, but he notices it.

  


"Oh yeah?" he asks, sitting down, too. Lucy nods.

"Uh huh. In a big way. I don't recommend it." she says, studying the bandaged wound. "By the way, nice work on cleaning it up." 

"Well, it is kinda my job." he says, admiring his work. 

  


"Yeah, I guess. So, do you like it here?" Lucy asks, wondering how many transgenics are in TC's borders.

  


"Yeah, it's better than anything out there." he answers. "And Max and Alec do a great job of keeping everyone happy and safe."

  


"Yeah," Lucy says, summing up the courage to ask a question that she's wanted to for a while, "they really seem to be on the same wavelength. When they were in here before, I could've sworn I was missing out on some sort of silent conversation, like they were talking, but they didn't need to use words. Wow, that sounded stupid."

  


"No, I totally agree with you on that one. No one else realizes that they both are crazy about each other." he tells her, glad that somebody else realizes how close Max and Alec are. 

  


"I think that they'll eventually come to their senses." Lucy says, smiling slightly at the thought of Max and Alec together. ~They're so perfect for each other, why can't they see it?~

  


"Let's hope so, otherwise Max will never stop beating him up." he adds, and they both laugh.

  


"Hey, Max does not, and I repeat NOT, beat me up. I could so take her." Xander and Lucy snap their heads in the direction of the door, where Alec's leaning against the frame. Max pushes him to the side and walks through.

  


Xander and Lucy look at each other, praying silently that Max and Alec only heard the last part of that sentence.

"You know, I always liked you Xander. And Lucy, you're quickly rising on my favorites list." she tells them, and both of them smile shyly, still embarrassed about being caught talking about the two most powerful people in TC. "Oh, and Alec?" Max turns toward him, remembering something. "I can so kick your ass."

  


"Nuh uh." he says. A sudden thought hits Alec, and he smiles evilly. "Oh, Xander, I forgot to tell you that you have munchkin duty tonight." 

  


Xander groans, cringing, then immediately starts to object. "Do I have to? They hate me. I think they're planning on eating me!"

  


Lucy laughs, along with Max. Alec just nods, completely agreeing. "No, I'm with Xan-man on this. They're evil."

  


"They're not evil, and they are not going to eat you." Max scoffs, then looks at Lucy. "Like I've said before, men are wimps."

  


"They're always in the corner, plotting. That's all they do- plot, plot, plot, plot, plot to be evil little munchkins. Oh, and they plot to eat people, too." Alec whines, and Lucy rolls her eyes.

  


"And how many have they eaten, to date?" she asks.

  


"Well, we can't be sure..." Xander says in a mock-mysterious voice, Alec humming the Twilight Zone theme. Xander takes over the theme song, and Alec says in his best 'Are-You-Afraid-of the Dark' voice, "We'll never know."

  


Xander scrunches his face in thought. "We should make a list." Alec nods. "You can add me to it-Johnny bit me once."

  


Max and Lucy stare at each other in disbelief, then start laughing hysterically. Max leans on a nearby table for support, and Lucy lays back on the bed, clutching her stomach. Xander and Alec watch the two girls in wonder. Both of them seem so laden down with responsibility and the suckiness of the world, it's great to see them laughing. Not just laughing, lying on the floor, pee-you-pants, oh-my-god laughing.

  


Max clings to Alec's shirt so that she doesn't fall to the ground, she's laughing so hard. He wraps his arms around her waist to keep her up, noting how natural being close to her feels. Max stops laughing and looks at Alec, her face softening. "You're not being very nice." he says playfully.

  


"Yeah," Max says thoughtfully, "but being mean's so much fun." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, only to receive a light punch in the shoulder.

  


Xander, who's now sitting on the bed, grabs Lucy's hand and tugs her into a sitting position, being careful not to harm any of her many cuts. She smiles at him, then laughs a little. "So, did Johnny really bite you?"

  


He puts on a puppydog face and rolls up the sleeve of his gray t-shirt, revealing his well-muscled shoulder. He juts out his bottom lip. "Yeah, right there." he says, pointing to a spot that's still slightly red. "Little bugger drew blood."

  


"Aw, you poor thing." Lucy teases, patting him on the back in mock-sympathy. She smirks and looks at him, her eyes growing wide, feigning wonder. "You got bit, and I only got stabbed." She bats her eyes in mockery of all of the ditzy girls she'd seen do it. "You want me to kiss it better?"

  


He smiles, and leans in, wiggling his eyebrows just like Alec had done a moment before. "Well, it couldn't hurt." he says, rubbing the spot where she hit him.

  


Xander leans in to Lucy, and for a second she thinks that he's going to kiss her. He whispers, "Look at them." Her gaze immediately wanders to Max and Alec, who are still standing with Alec's arms around Max's waist.

  


"They're so cute." says Max, leaning her head against Alec's chest without even realizing it. "Yeah," Alec says, watching the scene play out between the teenagers.

  


Suddenly Xander feigns that he's going to get up, and a pout immediately springs to Lucy's lips. It vanishes, however, when Xander quickly spins on his heel and jumps on the bed, tickling her. Tears of laughter run down Lucy's cheek, and Max and Alec watch, bemused, as Lucy tries to stop him. "I-hehe- was just- hahaha...-kidding!" she says through fits of laughter.

  


"Take it back." Xander says, his eyes twinkling mischievously and his smirk growing by the second. He stops tickling her, and brushes a strand of hair out of her eye.

  


She leans in, and closes her eyes. To Max and Alec, it looks like she's gonna kiss him. Their faces inches apart, she shakes her head slowly. "Never." she whispers, and he starts tickling her again.

  


"Mercy! Mercy!" she squeals, trying in vain to push him away. "Ok, I-hehe- take it-Xander, stop it right...hee..now!- back." she says, panting.

  


"Take what back?" Xander prods, loving this.

  


"Do I have to?" Lucy whines, and he nods enthusiastically. She points at him. "You, by the way, are liking this way too much." she says as he rolls off of her.

  


"You deserve it. Now take it back and apologize, or I'll tickle you again." he threatens, wiggling his fingers menacingly. Lucy rolls her eyes.

  


"Fine...I take back calling you a manwhore and I'm sorry, because I'm sure you are a gentleman." she says, cringing at her words. 

  


Xander's smile covers his face, and he turns to Max and Alec, who quickly separate and stand next to each other, both unhappy at that development. "That was the most rewarding thing I've done all day." Lucy turns to them, too. "That was the most painfully embarrassing thing that I've done all day."

  


Xander thinks about that for a moment. "What about taking off your shirt for me?" Lucy elbows him in the stomach, turning bright red.

  


"Whatever happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?" she hisses.

  


"That went out with the Pulse, and come on, Lucy, you know you liked it." he says, smiling seductively and winking.

  


"How about hell no, Pretty Boy?" Lucy snaps, but her scowl doesn't reach her eyes. ~She's kinda cute when she's mad~

  


"Maxie, he's taking my nickname." Alec whines, and Max elbows him in the stomach softly. "What?" he asks, looking confused.

  


"I have to check on something. Come with me." she says, and they creep out of the room, Xander and Lucy not even stopping their bantering for a goodbye.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hello, all!!! hope you liked the latest adventures of Alec, Max, Xander, and Lucy. Well, ok, Xander's a new addition, but I think he might be staying. What do you think??? questions, comments, call 1-800-REVIEW-ME-PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  


Molly Jeane :D


	6. nightmares

  


"Your cut split open." Xander informs Lucy, the pad of his thumb tracing the gash on her cheek. He immediately reaches for the rubbing alcohol. Lucy reaches up and touches the cut, reeling when she sees the blood. __

  


_/Her family being stabbed, blood staining every thing./_

  


~Deep breaths, Lucy, deep breaths. You don't want any more people to know.~

  


_/Johnny crying, begging the mean men to stop it./_

  


"What's wrong?" Xander asks, wiping the blood off of her cheek gently. ~Damn.~

  


_/Their pain finally stopping as they breath their last painful breaths./_

  


"Everything." she whispers, her voice so soft that he would have missed it were he not a transgenic. He finishes cleaning her cheek and wraps an arm around her. "You want to talk about it?" he asks, her sadness really bothering him.

  


"Not now." she sighs, and leans her head on his shoulder, a lone tear falling down her cheek. She tries to block out the painful memories, closing her eyes. His presence comforts her, and she finds herself drifting towards sleep.

  


"You should rest." Xander says, going to get up. ~I'm gonna mutilate whoever did this to her~ he thinks angrily, not knowing why he's so connected to her.

  


Her face scrunches up slightly in fear. "No," she whispers, half asleep, "stay here. I don't like being alone." she says, burrowing into the pillow. He heads to the chair, but Lucy opens her eyes and motions him over. "You can't sleep on the chair, moron."

  


He smiles a little, then lays down next to her. She rolls over, so that they're face-to-face. Instantly he lifts her shirt to check on the knife wound. "Does it hurt?" he asks. She shakes her head, but winces a little. 

  


"Thank you." Lucy murmurs sleepily. His brow wrinkles in confusion.

  


"For what?" he asks, thoroughly confused. She lays her head on his shoulder.

  


"For making me feel safe." she says, just before her breathing slows and she falls asleep.

  


"Anytime, Lucy." he says, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Anytime."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Empty office, TC Medical Center

  


"How were they so comfortable with each other, Alec?" Max asks, locking the door. He shrugs.

  


"I don't know. Maybe they bonded." he says, really starting to wonder how Xander and Lucy got so close when they only met that day, and not even for over an hour and a half. Max rolls her eyes.

  


"No, I'm talking like any reasons meaning transgenic things. And not a whole lot of people can bond like that in less than a half hour, especially when one is critically wounded." she says, not knowing how to ask him without sounding stupid.

  


"Yeah, I can see your point-not many people are too chatty when they have a hole left by a knife in their side, but what do you mean by transgenic things?" he asks, knowing that Max is uncomfortable not knowing much about their kind because she escaped so young.

  


"You know, like packs and stuff. You got anything?" she asks, rushing through the questions. Alec thinks about the way they acted.

  


"Well," Alec says, thinking back to how Lucy and Xander acted, "maybe it was just instinctive of them both."

  


"What do you mean?" Max asks, pushing a pile of papers off of a desk to make room for her. 

  


"Well, haven't you ever met a person and then just had this incredibly strong bond, even after knowing them for only a short time?" he asks, and the both recall the time that they first met.

  


"Yeah, I have. So," Max says, "what about the transgenic part?"

  


"I'm not quite sure about that. But I do know one thing-Lucy is definitely not like the ordinaries. She's special, and maybe that's why Xander and her are so close. She isn't completely human, that's for sure."

  


"Yeah," Max says softly, thinking about how her pack is gone now. Alec sees the tension on her face.

  


"And besides that, the two were totally into each other." he says, chuckling in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  


"Can't deny that." she laughs. "I mean, how can they even pretend to not like each other when they so totally do." They both think about that for a minute, and then Max gets an idea. "Alec, I have an idea. You know the Transgenic Pride Dance?" she asks. He smiles slightly at her naiveness, wondering how she can't realize that he's been planning the perfect time to ask her for the past week.

  


"Yeah, I've heard about it." he says nonchalantly.

  


"We have to get Xander to ask Lucy." Max says, "Maybe that will make her stay longer. She kind of looks like she's still on the run. We have to get her to stay here, Alec."

  


"We'll make it work, Max."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lucy's room

Xander lays on the bed with his eyes closed, wondering what woke him up. He looks down at Lucy, who suddenly starts whispering something incoherently. He looks to the door, where he can see Max and Alec laughing in the hallway, 

  


He brushes a strand of hair out of Lucy's face and pulls her close to him, wrapping his arms around her protectively. "Shshshsh..." he whispers, trying to soother her. 

  


She tosses in his arms violently, and starts crying out, "Blood. Blood...everywhere...dead." He rocks her slowly, and her yelling stops, but her sobs grow louder. He feels Max and Alec in the room, but doesn't look up from her. Lucy's his primary focus right now, stopping her cries is the only thing that matter. "It's ok, Lucy, I'm right here."

  


Her sobs die down a little, but her face is so pale, and filled with fear . "my fault...all my fault. Sorry...so sorry." she whispers, tears running down her face freely. He pulls her closer, and kisses her forehead. "You don't have to apologize, Lucy. Nothing is your fault." he laces his fingers with hers, and his touch comforts her.

  


She falls back into a deep sleep, her hand grasping his and her head tucked in his shoulder. He lays her gently on the pillow and checks her bandage. He untangles her hand from his, and covers her with a blanket and turns to Max and Alec, who are watching him intently. They motion for him to follow them. He pulls the blanket further up on Lucy. ~I'll be back, Luce.~

  
  


Max watches from the door, touched by Xander's protectiveness of Lucy. ~So that's what it's like to have pack.~ she thinks sadly as she shuts the door behind Xander.

  


"Ok," Xander says, running his hands through his hair, a nervous habit, "what the hell happened to make her that scared, and can I kill it?"

  


"We aren't a hundred percent yet," Alec explains, "but we do know that her family was brutally murdered, and White held her captive. We're getting a blood workup done now." 

  


"Shit..." Xander says, eyeing the sleeping girl on the bed.

  


"Yeah." Max and Alec say at the same time, their eyes following his to where Lucy lays on the bed, the blanket tucked around her.

  


"Why kill her family? Were they involved in Manticore?" Xander asks, needing to know the reason for Lucy's pain.

  


"To make her break." Max says sadly. "The bastards took pictures of it, and gave them to her, telling her that it was all her fault."

  


Xander clenches his fists, trying to control the sudden urge to beat the shit our of something. "Those sick fucks are gonna pay." he promises, willing to do anything in his power to get Lucy's revenge. "Is she okay?" he asks, truly worried.

  


"Would you be after you saw this?" Alec asks bitterly, holding out the picture. Xander grabs it from him and studies it, his heart sinking. "Damn..." he swears, outraged. "I gotta go." he says, and stalks off angrily after one last heartfelt look at Lucy.

  


"If she wakes up, tell her I'll be back." he calls from down the hall. Max and Alec look at each other, both not really knowing what just happened. Alec smirks a bit, and tries to lighten the mood. 

  


"Ten bucks says he's gonna kick someone's ass." he says, promptly recieving a punch in the shoulder from Max. "What?" he asks, rubbing his arm.

  


"Moron. Come on, let's go see how Dix is doing on that blood analysis." she orders, and they walk down the hall.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

  


hello, my beautiful readers! Wanna do something that'll make me all warm and fuzzle-y? REVIEW!!!!! 

  


I want to thank everyone who reviewed. You really inspire me, guys! *sniffs happily*

  


molly jeane


	7. Ah the life of the genetically empowered

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lucy's room, Med Center, TC(4 hours later)

Lucy opens her eyes, revealing an empty room. ~Where'd he go?~ she wonders in dissapointment, then realizes that he must have work to do. ~Anyway, why would he want to hang out with someone as disaster-prone as you?~ a little voice in her head chastises.

"Damn." she mumbles, trying to spot her backpack. ~Oh, god. They took it. Oh man, they know!~ she starts freaking out, but forces herself to calm down. ~Okay, Luce, just count to 10. 1...2...3...4..5..6..7..8..9..10...~

She opens her eyes again and spots a note on her nightstand that she must have missed. She picks it up and examines it, rightfully wary of letters ever since the one from The Conclave. It's slightly off-white, and has her name written on it in black marker. She pulls it open, praying that this time it's from a good guy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~letter

Lucy,

Hey...Max here. I just want to tell you that Xander promised he'll visit you when he's done with the kids, and Alec and I will, too, as soon as we can. Lucy, I know that it's hard to be different. Trust me, no one knows that better than the people living inside TC. But just know that you fit here, and you'll be safe here. I have a feeling that Xander'll kill anything that so much as looks at you wrong.

Max

P.S. Look in the nightstand drawer. Dix left you a present.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucy smiles a little, touched that everyone's trying to make her feel at home. She opens the drawer and pulls out a little rectangular package. She tears off the paper to find a hardcover bok entitled, The Study and Evolution of Genetics. She opens the cover and a letter falls out. ~Christ, what's with people leaving me letters?~ she thinks, and rips it open.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~letter

Dear Lucy,

Hello! I'm Dix, and I thought that this book might be of some use to you.

Max gave me a sample of your blood to analyze (standard procedure, don't feel violated), and it was incredibly interesting. You see, Lucy, us transgeincs are genetically engineered. Our DNA was carefully fused and fussed with, our genomes altered, and the result is superhuman-esque transgenics. Your DNA, however, isn't altered- it's mutated. All naturally, somehow your body is one step above the stage of evolution we're at now.

Well, I don't mean to bore you. I can't wait to meet you in person, and the rest of TC hopes you feel better.

Dix

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~A mutant? GREAT. Like I don't have enough to worry about as is. Stupid evolved DNA.~ Lucy sighs, and flips to Chapter Nine: The Evolution of Human Genomes. ~Oh, well, maybe the book'll explain something~ she muses, and starts reading.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TC gym

SMACK! 

~Fucking Familiars~

  


SMACK!

~They hurt Lucy~

SMACK!

~They're gonna pay.~

Xander wipes the sweat out of his eyes, and stops hitting the punching bag at the sound of footsteps behind him. "Xander, take a break," Alec orders, knowing that he's probably been at it for a good three hours. He throws him a towel. "You okay? You look kinda tired." 

Xander sits down on a nearby bench, his breathing heavy. "I needed to hit something." he says simply, wiping his face with the towel. "God, Alec...I mean, how could you hurt a person that much? Especially one as sweet as Lucy?" he thinks out loud. ~He really cares about her.~ Alec thinks, impressed with the bond that he and Lucy have. 

"I understand, man." Alec sympathizes, knowing that if Max was ever traumatized that much, he'd kill to see her happy. He sits down next to Xander. "Xander," Alec says cautiously, "did Lucy tell you why White's after her?" 

Xander looks up, his face dark. "Besides the fact that he's an asshole, no." he says. He looks up to Alec worriedly. "Why?" 

"Just thought you should know, since you're close to Lucy." he says quickly. Xander nods his thanks, and Alec continues, "We don't know why quite yet, but Lucy's DNA have evolved somehow, to our level. It's like she's a transgenic, but naturally. From what Dix and his crew can tell us, she has powers-strong ones, too. Max and I know that for sure." He pauses.

"What do you mean, and how strong are we talking?" Xander asks immediately.

"Well, when Max and I first checked on Lucy, she was sleeping-peacefully, I might add. Then she started screaming about hating White and that he didn't have to hurt them, and then..." he trails off, not really knowing how to describe her powers.

"Then what, Alec? Is she okay?" Xander asks impatiently, needing to know if she's all right. Alec nods, and continues.

"Yeah, she's fine, buddy. But all of a sudden her screaming trailed off, and her eyes flew open, and her body went rigid, and this bright light came from her. It formed some kind of protective ring around her, and it just kept growing until all of a sudden it was like the light repelled anything that might be potentially dangerous. Max and I were thrown across the room, and most of the stuff near her was trashed or thrown across the room. Then, just as quickly as it started, she fell to the bed asleep again." Alec explains, still in awe at the power Lucy has.

"Damn. Do you think that it happens a lot?" Xander asks, guessing that the use of her powers wuold probably make her weak.

"Don't know." Alec says, thinking. "But she seemed pretty damn close to it when she was having that nightmare back there. I don't know how the hell you calmed her down. Max and I tried the same thing, but it kinda backfired."

Xander stands up and throws the towel in a bin nearby. Alec stands up, too, not done talking yet. He falls in step with Xander. "So, you really like Lucy, don't you?" he says nonchalantly, hoping that he'll get something out of Xander. The teenager blushes a bit, a little embarrassed, but brushes it off. "Aw, come on, man. You can tell me."

"Yeah," Xander says, holding the door for the older man as they walk out into the bright afternoon, "I do. It's weird, though, because it's like we've known each other for forever. Okay, that sounded stupid, but you know what I mean."

"Like you have an instant connection." Alec finishes, remembering the first time he met Max. 

"Exactly. So, what about you and Max?" he asks, laughing inwardly at Alec's look of shock. "Oh, come on, man, you like her, don't you?"

"I don't know. It's confusing, like we're best friends, but are scared to take it any further in case we might ruin our friendship." Alec explains, slightly uncomfortable talking about feelings like this, but Xander doesn't seem to mind at all, and ponders it.

"I know what you mean. Hey, why don't you ask her to the Transgenic Pride Dance?" he suggests, and Alec rolls his eyes.

"You don't think that I already thought of that? I want to, I just don't know how to do it." he explains.

"Well, you could always serenade her." Xander laughs. Alec lights up.

"Only if you sing to Lucy." he negotiates, hoping to convince Xander to ask her. "And ask her to the dance."

"I don't know." Xander says, kind of nervous to ask her. "What if she says no?"

"Come on, man," Alec scoffs, "she likes you. And we can do it together." 

"How so?" Xander asks, intrigued. ~Maybe this can work. I want to go with Lucy so bad.~

"Well, we can tell them to meet someplace, and then we'll have the room decorated and everything." Alec says, already planning.

"Yeah, we can send them flowers and anonymous notes telling them to meet us at..." Xander trails off, not sure where.

"Headquarters!! It will be a total surprise, and everyone will see how ingenious we are." Alec says.

They walk straight to Alec's office and lock the door, just in case anyone should try to invade their planning session.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: hey everyone! Sorry that it's been a while, but we just got off book for the musical, and my brother's being an ass, and I have no idea what I'm doing in Algebra, so I'm having fun.

Please review and make me happy! Luv ya!

Molly jeane


	8. Love is in the air

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lucy's room, TC Medical Center

Max walks into Lucy's room to find her enthralled in her book on genetics. ~Wouldn't Dix be proud?~ "Hey Luce. What's up?" she asks, and Lucy snaps the book shut.

"Hey Max. Nothing much, just trying to figure out my messed up DNA. You?" she asks, setting the book on the table.

"Same. So, you find anything out?" she asks Lucy. 

"I got nothin'. Take a seat." Lucy tells her, motioning to the end of the bed. Max sits down and sighs.

"Damn. Do you know how hard it is to plan a dance? You need decorations, and music, and then you have to worry about being asked and...oh my god, this is a mess." she rants, burying her face in her hands. 

"I know." Lucy sympathizes, "I was on the dance committee in high school. It was really stressful." Max nods, feeling the need to either punch something. Lucy pulls her into a hug. "Hey," she says cheerfully, "I could help you!"

"Really?" Max asks gratefully. Lucy lays down on the bed sideways, so her feet and head dangle off. She nods enthusiastically, swinging her feet with uncontrolled excitement.

"Uh huh! We can get a good band to play, and crepe paper's pretty easy to get. Oh, and we can have the little kids make snowflakes or hearts during daycare." she says excitedly. Max lays down next to her and smiles, feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off of her shoulders.

"It'll keep them from eating anybody." Max says, smirking.

"For a while, anyway." Lucy nods, and they both laugh. She looks at Max, her face serious now. "Max, thank you so much for being so kind to me. You don't know how much I miss just having someone to talk to."

"No big." Max says, blushing softly at the thank you. ~I want her to stay here, so she's safe. She won't be on the outside.~ she thinks, looking at the cheerful girl. ~She's so innocent, even after all she's been through.~ "You should stay here, Lucy. You fit good here."

"I don't know." Lucy says, her face wrinkling in indecision. "White's still after me, and I don't want you guys to be in danger just because of me. I can take care of myself." 

"We're always on White's radar, Lucy. Don't worry about it. Besides, I think that TC's become attached to you." Max says, trying to tally how many people asked about Lucy.

"They know? About me being different?" Lucy says, panicking. "Oh, no." she groans, hitting her head with her hand.

"No, not a lot of people. Just the medical staff and a few people. They care about you, Lucy. We all do." she explains, and feels the tension leave Lucy's shoulders.

"I don't want to impose, though..." Lucy says nervously, uncomfortable about staying in one place for so long after spending so long running.

"You wouldn't. I could find you a room with an X6- they're your age- and you could help us save the world." Max says, the last part dripping with sarcasm.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to be a burden, or trouble to anyone." Lucy tells her, sick of always being thought of as a problem.

"Lucy, you're not a burden. We love having you around, especially Xander. And we all want you to stay here. Besides, you could help me plan all of the "fun" stuff that stresses me out so much." Max says, putting bunny ears around fun. 

"Well...ok, maybe I will." Lucy caves, smiling slightly, happier than she's been ever since her 'normal' life ended.

"You will?" Max asks her, smiling at the thought of Lucy staying- she almost thinks of her as a little sister. "Great! You have to meet everyone. They'll love ya."

Lucy smiles, finally feeling welcomed somewhere. "Now," she says in a mock-serious voice, "on to more important things: how do you think that Alec will ask you?" Max rolls her eyes in disbelief, and Lucy scoffs. "Come on, you can't honestly tell me that you don't have feelings for the guy. And he obviously reciprocates. He'll ask you, no question. So, how do you think he'll do it?"

Max's shocked for a moment, then smiles shyly. "I don't know. What about Xander? He's sure to ask you."

Lucy blushes a bit, kind of nervous about going to the dance. "I don't know if he's going to ask me. But if he does, I have a feeling that they're going to be creative."

Max laughs, "Yeah, that's one thing that we can say about them. Oh, god, I hope they don't integrate the munchkins into their plans."

Lucy grins. "Eh, I don't think so-they're too intimidated. Oh, what about singing?" 

Max laughs. "I think that I'd fall over if they actually serenaded us. Can you imagine?"

Lucy nods, already getting a visual. "Yeah, they'd probably pick a song like...hmm...Baby Got Back, or 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'!"

They both laugh, and spend the afternoon making up crazy ways that the boys could possibly ask them, not knowing that they've already guessed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alec's Apartment, TC

"How about 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'?" Xander asks, and Alec rolls his eyes and laughs, imagining the beating they'd get.

"Are you kidding me? I think that they'd go on a killing rampage!" he laughs, and Xander bites into a slice of pizza, slightly miffed that his idea didn't make the cut. "How about that old song... 'If It Were Up To Me'?" Alec asks, and Xander easily remembers the Rooney song.

"Sure, it'll be great." he agrees. "So, you nervous?" he asks, trying to be nonchalant but Alec can easily tell that the boy's worried stiff about asking Lucy.

"No." he says, then sees the scrutinous look that Xander's giving him. "Okay, maybe a little. But they'll say yes for sure." he assures him, and Xander smirks.

"We are damn fine, aren't we?" he says, leaning back on his chair and kicking his legs up, running his hands through his hair. Alec kicks out the one chair leg that he's leaning on, and the only thing saving him from falling to a heap is superior genetics.

He stands up and brushes himself off, giving Alec a dirty look. "Well, it's true." he mumbles, and they go on planning their surprise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: hey everyone! Sorry I've been falling behind in updates. I don't know if the last chapter went up ok, or if It did no one reviewed. 

So, please review, just so I know if you're reading! Luv ya! Oh, and happy Valentine's day!

Molly Jeane :D


	9. serenades, mudfights, and an angry amesy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lucy's room, TC medical center

"So, you'll still need to be really careful about all of your cuts and stuff opening again, but you're discharged." Sandy tells Lucy, and hands her the clipboard. Max smiles, knowing that Lucy'll love the apartment she set her up with.

Sandy signs the clipboard, commemorating Lucy's freedom from the med center. "Lucy Witkopp, you are free to go." Max says happily, but Lucy's face scrunches up in thought.

"Is that the last name I told you? I was having a hard time remembering it. I switched every city, so that it would make it a little harder for White to catch up." she explains, and smiles. "I'm Lucy Sandeman. God, that feels weird to say after all this time."

"Sandeman?" Max asks, her eyes widening. 

"Yeah. Is that bad or something?" Lucy asks, looking concerned. Max shakes her head, mentally screaming, 'OH MY GOD!!!'

"Not at all, Luce. Now come on, let's get you an apartment." she says, and helps Lucy up. The girl smiles, finally feeling safe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Street, TC

"We just have to check in at headquarters and then we're good to go. Dix told me it was important that we're there at 12." Max tells Lucy, suddenly remembering it. 

"That's cool. I can wait." she says, grateful she's even able to stay in TC.

"So, how's everything healing up?" Max asks conversationally as her and Lucy walk down the street. She walks close to Lucy, one hand hovering at her side in case Lucy stumbles.

"It's all right. If I don't think about it much, it's pretty numb." she says. "Mind over matter, right?"

Max smiles, and nods. "Yeah. Hey, you're going to need a dress to wear for the dance, aren't you?"

Lucy blushes a bit, biting her lip shyly. "I don't even know if I'm gonna go, Max."

Max rolls her eyes, smiling. "Of course Xander's going to ask you. There's no question about it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Headquarters, TC

"Alec, I can't do this. Way too nervous, man." Xander says, freaking. He runs his hands through his hair nervously, biting his lip.

"Xander, you piloted a fighter plane when you were ten. You can sing to the girl you have the hots for." Alec assures him while trying to convince himself the same thing. 

The girls walk into head quarters, laughing over something girl-talky, Xander assumes.~I can do this. I can so do this...well, ok, I'm having doubts. Pull yourself together, Xander! If this is the best way to ask Lucy, then you sure as hell better do it!~ he thinks, giving himself a private peptalk.

"We're on in ten." Alec tells Xander, and both of them try to stop the nervousness from getting to them. "Wave." Alec says, and they both wave at the girls, who smile and wave back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Headquarters, TC

"Why does Xander look like he's going to throw up?" Lucy asks, and Max shrugs, noticing Alec fidgeting a bit.

"Maybe he's gonna." she replies, then spots Dix. "Yo, Dix! What'd you want me here for?"

"Um....I, uh...oh, look, there's Mole. Well, gotta run!" he fumbles, then walks away quickly.

"What the hell was that about?" Max asks, utterly confused. Lucy shrugs.

"I don't know, but Xander and Alec both have microphones. Do you know what's up?" Lucy asks, kind of nervous not knowing what's happening.

"Oh, god...let's go check it out." Max says, and they rush to the center of Headquarters just as Alec and Xander step onto a table with the mics. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Headquarters, TC

"Ok, hey everybody." Alec greets everyone, and they wave back, Mole grumbling about how they stole his table. "Well, Xander and I have to do something that most guys are trying to think of ways to do. So, being the great leaders that we are, we've decided to set all of the menfolk out there the best example possible." he announces, smirking. Well, by now everybody's really wondering what they're doing. Then the music starts. 

"Lucy, Max, I guess what we idiot are trying to do...well, besides embarrassing ourselves, is ask you to the Transgenic Pride Dance. Because, well, we like you." Xander says, and Lucy smiles at her man. ~My man? When did that happen!!?~

"She doesn't have the answer yet (The answer yet)

~God she's beautiful.~

I'm breathing down her neck. Maybe I should give her time.

~I think I love her. Damn, I really do!~

If it were up to me, she would know that 

~If it were up to me, she'd come up here and stop me from making a fool out of myself~

She'll be the one, who when I'm dead will use my bed. 

~I actually really don't get that line~

If it were up to me, she would know that our love (our love)

~Her blue eyes are so pretty, like blue lakes or something.~

is the best love (best love) if it were up to me...

~I love her eyes. They remind me of chocolate.~

Our love (our love) Is the best love(best love) So just let it be...

~Woohoo! She's smiling...oh, no, and crying. Is that good? Crying isn't usually good. Oh, crap.~

I want you to know I've done our charts And it says we work as one

~She's rolling her eyes...in a good way? A guy can only hope.

Like the Jackson Five and The Temptations. If it were up to me, she would know that 

~What'll I do if she says no? Okay, Alec, really bad plan! I made the girl cry!~

Our love (our love) Is the best love (best love) If it were up to me...

~They're coming closer...~

Yes our love (our love) Is real love, So just let it be

~I know I must have hurt her feelings, but I hope she doesn't hit me...~

Well your friends likes my smile, and your family likes my lifestyle

~And Xander said this is a bad plan. Ha! I laugh at him...~

Should I ask them what I asked you To get the answer? 

~Stupid plan....who said that Alec was in charge?~

Yes to get the answer? It's easy....it's easy...

Max and Lucy push through the clapping crowd, nothing but their guys on their minds. Max finds Alec first, and kisses him. "That was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me." she whispers, knowing that pasta dinners with EO could never have measured up to this. "So, that's a yes?" he asks, smirking that famous, patented Alec-smirk.Max kisses Alec right on the lips, making him the happiest man in the room, but not for long.

Lucy runs to Xander and wraps her arms around him. "You are the sweetest boy alive, Xander!" she shouts, and He spins, pulling her tighter. "So, I guess that's a yes?" he asks, grinning madly. She pulls out of the hug and looks at him, her blue eyes gazing happily into his hazel ones. "Are you crazy?" she asks, and his heart sinks for a moment. "I wouldn't dream of going without you." she tells him, and promptly leans in and kisses him. He spins her around again, and she giggles loudly, drawing "aw.."'s from the women in the crowd. 

"You want to go catch something to eat?" Max asks Alec, lacing his fingers with hers. He pulls her close and they walk out the door, Alec's arm wrapped around Max, and her leaning her head on his shoulder.

"So, you want the world-famous tour of Terminal City? You haven't seen it much, on account of you being gutted." Xander says, following Alec's lead and wrapping his arm around Lucy. She grins.

"Yeah, that did kinda blow. I'd love to...you never know when you'll be stuck in the Med Center again, so why not enjoy the time out, right?" she laughs, and they go out the side door....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Terminal Park, TC

"Ooh, and over there," Xander points to a building with his free hand, "that's where Alec tripped and fell into a puddle of mud."

"Really?" Lucy laughs, imagining it perfectly. "Hey," she looks up, a thought occuring, "why have I only heard embarrassing moments from other people, not you? Or are you that perfect that you never trip, or fall, or do anything embarrassing?"

"Of course not, Lucy. I never, ever- ooph!" Xander ruins the statement he's trying to make by tripping over a stick, taking Lucy down with him. They land on the ground and stay there for a moment, silent...

"I can't believe you just did that! Talk about irony!" Lucy manages to say between laughs. She finally regains composure and crawls over to Xander, who gives her a pout.

"You're not being very nice." he tells her, and looks up into the cloudy sky, his face scrunched up. "I think it's raining."

"I know!" Lucy says happily, staring into the sky. Xander looks at her like she's crazy, and the drops start coming down heavily. We're not talking your average, everyday showers...we're talking Africa during monsoon-season.

"Luce, my dear, I don't think you quite get the concept. Rain equals wet Xander. Wet Xander equals very, very irritated Xander." he tells her, motioning for her to head with him. "Come on, my apartment is just down the street."

"Aw...I haven't been here for a real rainstorm. I wanna see it!" Lucy whines, throwing her arms up in the air and spinning around with her tongue out. Xander smiles at his girl...~Wait a minute, my girl? That's so cool to say!~ 

"Lucy, I really wouldn't do that...this is probably the closest we can get to acid rain that burns your skin off." he laughs, tackling her. 

"Ahhh!!!! I'm all muddy!!! You evil boy, I'm gonna make you pay!" she squeals, reaching for mud and rubbing it all over his face. He groans, and tries to wipe it off, and while he's busy with that, Lucy slips out of his grasp, running behind a tree.

"Try to find me!" she yells, and Xander stands up, pretending that he can't see her .

"Where are you?" he asks, holding his hand over his eyes in the 'Land Ho!' pose. He hears a giggle from behind the tree, and yells, "Olly Olly Oxenfree!" (A/N: I really don't know how to spell that-sorry!!! MJ)

Lucy runs out from behind the tree, a warcry and a smile on her lips. She jumps on Xander, and they tumble to the ground, laughing all the way. Both not aware of their audience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Alec's Apartment, TC

"Look at them. They're so cute together." Max whispers to Alec. He nods, pulling his arms tight around her.

"And it's pretty hard to look cute covered in mud." he muses, giving her a quick kiss. They walk away from the window and sit down on his couch, both loving the feel of finally being in each other's arms.

"I've wanted you for so long, Max." Alec whispers to her, and she shudders at the feel of his breath on her cheek. "Me too," she tells him, knowing in her heart that they're meant for each other. 

"I would have waited forever, if I needed to. I don't think that I've ever fallen this bad for someone." Alec says, putting a finger under her chin and pulling her gently to face him. He kisses her, and the rest of the world just melts away. The worries of tomorrow, the hurt of today...everything in the entire world is gone but them, and it feels perfect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~St. Francis Fort Army Base, Seattle

"Stupid, stupid! How could you let her get away, you moron?" a very angry Ames White yells at Frank Miller, and Frank tries not to look intimidated by the vein popping out of his employer's neck.

"Two transgenics helped her. We believe they were 494 and 452." he says, staring at the wall. Ames throws a chair into the wall, leaving an impressionable dent.

"The Conclave wants the girl dead." he says menacingly, but then an idea comes to mind... "Well, if we can't get to her, we can make her kill herself. Send the tape."

"Sir, that was our last plan of action. Are you sure-" Frank begins, but then White turns over the table, and he knows to shut up. 

"OF COURSE I'M SURE! Don't you ever, EVER question my judgement. Understand?" he yells, and Frank merely nods. "Good." he says calmly and stalks out of the room, punching the cement wall on his way out. 

Frank stares at the bloody knuckle-print. "This can't be good for my stress level."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: okay, so it has officially been forever since I've updated, and I'm sorry. So I made this the longest chapter ever!!!! happy? Sad? REVIEW AND TELL ME WHATCHA THINK, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!

I really appreciate anything you could say to me, even if it's just a 'um...I read your story and didn't barf.' I'd be cool with that...although, that's kinda unappealing, but whatever floats your boat, right?

Live fast.

Cheer hard.

Die laughing.

Molly Jeane :D


	10. angels, pinky promises, and one very evi...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucy rolls so that Xander's on top of her, blocking the steady rainfall. She groans, knowing that she's soaked through to her clothes. "Ugh, okay, who decided that we should try out my ideas?" she laughs. "I honestly don't think that I've ever been this wet before."

Xander takes in the sight of her. Her blonde hair is soaked, making it a darker color, and is plastered to her face. ~She's gorgeous~ "I don't doubt that." he agrees, rolling off her and pulling her to her feet.

Mud squishes through her sneakers, and the grip is gone, making her slide around in the mud. She lets out a half-squeal, half-laugh. "I can't walk!" she cries, trying and slipping onto the sopping grass. Xander scoops her into his arms, kissing her on her wet nose. She smirks at him, her eyes glittering. Well, at least that's what Xander guesses- it's quite hard to see through the torrential downpour. "You're so whipped!" she teases, and he almost drops her from shock.

"Uh uh, no way, missy. Genetically enhanced soldiers don't get whipped. It's like a rule." he scolds her jokingly, carrying her into his apartment building.

Lucy full-out grins now, remembering their first meeting. "Well, you are a rulebreaker." she says nonchalantly as he places her on the couch. Xander could have kicked himself for her good memory. Also remembering the only way to shut her up, he plunks down on the couch next to her and starts tickling her.

They subside after a while, leaning against each other and talking until dawn's light starts filtering through the window, neither one aware of the dangers they're about to face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~St. Francis Fort Army base, Seattle

Ames White stands in front of the Conclave in a dimly lit basement, not surprisingly overconfident- after all, this is Ames we're talking about. A member of the board, an old man with a very interesting scar on his face, clears his throat, unofficially announcing that the meeting has begun. 

"The Conclave would like to know why we haven't gotten the girl yet. She's a critical part of the Ascension, and we need her." he says, looking angrily through the dimly lit room to glare at Ames reprovingly. 

"Don't worry," White says, grinning grimly, "I have a plan, one that will rid us of the nuisance that is Terminal City at the same time."

The other members of the board smiled happily, glad that the transgenics would be out of their way. "Ah, yes, killing two birds with one stone." Mr. Scarface says delightedly, "but tell me, White, how do you expect to do that when you haven't even been able to catch the elusive 452?"

"I have a plan, don't worry. The Sandeman girl has the power to produce a protective sort of sheild, which she, in theory and with practice, could use to defend Terminal City. Last time we had her here, the only way that we could get her to stop was by playing a video of her family's deaths...it weakened her emotionally and physically-she produced an amazingly strong barrier for a few seconds, and then it died out, leaving her weak and defenseless." he explains, saying the word Sandeman like it's a dirty word. Funny, considering he's one of them... "So, once she's out of it, we storm TC, killing the transgenics in one blow and bringing the girl back."

"Very good, Ames. You've redeemed yourself from your family name, that's certain." a woman looking amazingly akin to a pig says, nodding in approval.

"The tape has been sent, and we await news of the girl's failure." Ames says proudly.

"That is all." the scar-man says, and Ames walks out of the room.

~This is too easy~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TC, Max's Apartment, 2 days later. (The day of the dance)

"So, you and your boy finally got togetha, boo." Original Cindy says while curling Lucy's hair. Max smiles from the doorway as she tries to zip up her dress.

"Yeah, we did. And I love being with him. It's so great to have someone and - I'm going to stop before I sound like a Hallmark card." she says, blushing slightly and turning around to let Lucy zip the dress, giving up herself. "But, in my defense, Lucy's just as mushy."

OC looks at Lucy through the mirror, and the girl's cheeks turn a bright pink. "Well, he's just so sweet, and funny, and cute...." she sighs, Xander immediately controlling her thoughts. Noticing both girls' exasperated stares, she snaps back to reality. "Well what? It's true." she mumbles, applying shimmery eye shadow.

"Did you hear how they asked us?" Max asks, and Lucy grins, thinking of how cute Xander was when he was nervous. OC shakes her head. "They serenaded us. Alec! Serenading me! Who'd have thought that would ever, in a million years, happen?" she asks, rolling her eyes at Cindy's perturbed look. "Ok, besides you?"

"Actually, Xander and I did. We're so right." Lucy says, mentally adding one point to the Xander/Lucy team. All of a sudden Lucy looks stricken, like she's hyperventilating, which very well may be. All of the color, except for the blush staining her cheeks, leaves her face, and she gasps.

"Ooh, baby boo, did I burn ya?" OC asks, pulling the curling iron out of her hair.

"Oh, my god. Big problem here, guys- I can't dance!!!" Lucy cries, throwing her hands in the air and standing up from the stool she was previously occupying. She paces outside the door, looking very comical pacing angrily in her angelic attire. "That's it- I'm soooo not going! Uh uh, no way, mister, never ever going to a dance, ever!!!!!" she rants, completely oblivious to the knowing grins on Max and OC's faces. She turns to them, on the verge of tears, and gapes at their bemused smirks. "What's so funny!!! My life is over!" she cries melodramatically, collapsing on the couch in true drama queen mode.

"Get off that couch, you'll ruin your dress, girl." OC orders, pulling a pouting Lucy to her feet. She dusts off some invisible lint, smiling encouragingly. 

"Nobody really knows how to dance, Lucy. You make it up as you go." Max advises, watching Cindy put mascara on Lucy, who's quickly becoming the night's Cinderella story.

"I'm just so nervous. What if Xander laughs at me? I'll feel like a complete idiot." Lucy admits, toying with the hem of her dress.

"He won't laugh at you. Are you kidding me? I think he'd rather die a painful death and still be in your favor rather than do the tiniest thing to make you mad." Max laughs. 

Applying one more coat of mascara, Cindy twirls Lucy around to face Max. "All done. I do damn fine work, don't I?" she asks, smiling widely as Lucy looks in disbelief at the mirror.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lucy squeals, pulling both Max and Cindy in a hug. "You guys rock!!!"

The doorbell rings, signaling the arrival of the boys, and tearing at both of the girls' nerves. They look at each other, both of their hearts stopping in their throats. OC says something about getting the door, but neither of them pay attention. They're too busy doing last-minute teeth checks and spraying on the last coat of hairspray. 

"Tell Alec I'll be out in a minute. I need to find my purse under all this beauty stuff." Max tells her, and Lucy looks nervously to the door, half-heartedly contemplating if it's worth the risk to just jump out the window and run. The jumping and falling part she's fine with, it's the running in heels that scares her.

"Xander?" she calls out nervously, self-conscious of herself beyond belief. 

"Yeah, Luce?" she hears him call, his voice soothing her nerves a little bit.

"Promise you won't make fun, ok?" she asks, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Max's apartment, TC

"What? Xander asks, knowing that he'll want to do anything but make fun of her. He runs his hands through his hair for about the thousandth time, his nervous habit threatening to pull his hair out by the roots.

"Just don't laugh. Promise?" he hears her plead, sounding unsure and, in truth, a little afraid.

"I promise." he says, willing her to come out of Max's room.

"Pinky promise?" she asks, and he chuckles at his girl.

"Pinky promise. Now just come out, you're making me nervous." he tells her, and hears the soft click of high heels as she enters the room, Xander's eyes nearly popping out at the sight of her.

She walks into the room, embarrassed at being the center of attention. A goofy grin slides on Xander's face, and he momentarily visits Happy Xander Land. "You're, uh...wow!" he announces eloquently as he takes her in, marveling at her beauty.

She looks like an angel, with her golden hair let down in soft ringlets. The white flowy dress, strappy sandals and shimmery eye shadow lend her a sort of ethereal glow, so beautiful that she seems unfit for this world. ~She's an angel. My angel~ Xander thinks, holding out his hand to her. She grabs it, and steps a bit wobbly in her borrowed pair of heels, closing the distance between them.

Her cherry lipgloss-covered lips quirk into a smile, grateful that he didn't laugh. "Not too bad yourself, mister." she says shyly, kissing him on the cheek. The two teens sit down on a a nearby couch, and Alec is left standing in the middle of the room, holding a rose behind his back and waiting for his girl to come.

~What if she changed her mind? What if she doesn't want to go with me?~ he panicks, and Lucy and Xander and OC smile at his nervousness. "Don't worry, boo, she's been worrying the same thing all day." Cindy comforts him, and he tries to shake off the nervousness.

"I was worried you'd change your mind." Lucy confides in Xander and blushes as he gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Lucy, you're so sweet." he whispers, lacing her fingers with his. "Right back atcha, babe." Lucy tells him, snuggling into his chest. Original Cindy watches the two teens, smiling softly at their affection. ~It's funny how you can put two teenagers in completely unnormal situations, and they'll still act like normal kids. They really love each other.~ But her musings are cut short when Max walks in the room.

Her hair is pinned up and curly, thanks in a large part to OC. The black dress she wears fits her perfectl. If Lucy looks like an Angel, then Max looks like a Dark Angel. She walks over to Alec, smiling softly. "You, uh...look beautiful." he tells her, improving slightly on Xander's words, but not by much. Max smiles, tugging on the dress a bit. "I feel like such a girl." she admits, feeling awkward in anything but a tank top and jeans or leather. 

Lucy and Xander quietly leave the room and start to the abandoned warehouse where the dance is being held, not wanting to ruin a moment. They leave, hand in hand, and Original Cindy quickly follows, wishing her friend good luck and then proceeding to the nearest sewer entrance to the outside world.

"Well, I think you look beautiful." Alec tells Max, wiping away her nervousness and worry and handing her a rose. "Shall we?" he asks her, holding out his arm like a proper gentleman.

"We shall." Max smiles, linking her arms with his in that regal matter she'd seen on old movies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`Abandoned Factory, TC

As Max and Alec walk into the 'Dance Hall', the sweet chords of a slow dance filtering through the air. They chat for a while, neither one wanting to dance for a while.

Max wants to find Lucy, to tell her that she found her an apartment, but she can't find her. After looking for a half hour, she's pretty worried. ~Who'd ever think that I'd be playing Momma Hen to a bunch of teenagers?~ she silently muses, all the while worried sick.

Max spots Dix while looking for them, and waves him over to her and Alec's table. "Hey, Dix!" she greets the misshapen man, and he grins. "Have you seen Xander and Lucy anywhere?" she asks, a little worried after looking for over forty minutes now.

"I just sent them to Headquarters. Something came if for Lucy. Just kinda showed up." he says, makig a comical sight as he bops to the music.

"Who from?" Max asks, worried it might be the BG's. (Bad Guys)

"No, but it's probably a surprise from Xander. That boy would do anything to make her happy. Still, he did seem quite surprised, but then again, we are good actors." he says, moving away as a panther-like woman motions him to the dance floor.

"Max, what's wrong?" Alec asks, handing her a cup of freshly poured punch.

"Lucy got a package, and we don't know who it's from, or what it is. I have a feeling it's White." she tells him, whispering. "Lucy told me her last name isn't really Witkopp- it's Sandeman." She tells Alec, and his eyes widen in panic and worry for the girl he's come to think of as a sister.

"This can't be good." he says, grabbing her hand. They run to Headquarters, hoping that they're in a fair race against time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

A/N: sorry I haven't updated in like forever!!!!!! forgive me!!!! but good news- I have spring break this week, so I'm hoping to update all of my stories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~JUST REVIEW, OK? YOU'LL MAKE ME THE MOST INSPIRED, HAPPY, CHIPPER, PEPPY, & BUBBLY GIRL IN THE WORLD!! I'LL EVEN BEAT BABY SPICE FOR PERKINESS, NOT AN EASY FEAT!!!! SO REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DISCLAIMER: yeah, yeah, not mine- no need to rub it in. *pouts* humph!


	11. Destiny's child

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Lucy shivers in the cold, dimly lit Headquarters, now drained of all signs of life. "It's really dark in her, Xander. And cold. And I think I saw a spider when we came in, and I really have this hate-hate relationship with arachnids, and- " she rambles, and he smirks. ~I love it when she rambles.~

"Never fear, Xander the Brave is here. And I won't let any spiders get you, I promise." Xander puffs out his chest, and they both laugh. Xander puts his arm around Lucy, and she leans against him as they walk to the Conference Room, where Dix said the package was.

"My hero." she whispers, and kisses him softly. He pulls her into the Conference Room, making sure she doesn't trip over anything in the dark- after all, not everyone has superior cat-like night vision.

They walk into the empty room, and head straight to the Round Table (after something Alec had read about and persuaded Max to call the inner circle the Knights of the Round Table). Lucy picks up the relatively small cardboard box and looks at Xander unsurely. "You want me to do it?" he asks, and she shakes her head stubbornly.

"No, I got it. I just have a bad feeling about whatever might be inside." she says, working on the tape.

"Like I said, Luce, I'll always keep you safe." he whispers, walking behind her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Got it." she says, peeling the box open to reveal a small tape. "Anywhere we can watch this?" she asks, and Xander takes the tape and pops it in the nearby VCR, turning on the television. He sits down on the nearest chair, and Lucy takes a seat in his lap.

Images of blood and screams of anguish fill the screen immediately, showing just how gruesome and terrifying her family's deaths were. Johnny sobs, begging the mean men to stop. A cold voice rips through the screen, the video shattering Lucy's heart into a million pieces. "This is what they went through, Lucy. Because of you. You did this to them. Can't you see? You're poison. Poison, poison." the voice keeps saying.

Lucy sobs uncontrollably. Xander, not in reach of the tv, just covers her ears, too busy trying to save her from this evil to notice the light coming off of her. It grows brighter and brighter, and Lucy's cries louder, breaking every heart within hearing distance. The light is blinding, hurting Xander's eyes, and he kisses her forehead as she whimpers in pain. "Just promise me you'll be okay, Luce. Just promise me that."

Lucy's hand flies out, and the tv explodes, leaving sparks and shards of glass and plastic in its wake. Xander covers Lucy's face, catching a piece of glass in his own. The objects in the room start being thrown around the room, and a vase hits Xander in the head, knocking him out. Just before blackness claims him, he crawls to Lucy, covering her body with his, keeping her safe.

"You're poison Lucy. Poison...."

One long, blood-curdling scream pierces the night, a sign of what's to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alec, did you see that?" Max pants as they continue running through the darkened streets of TC. "Did you hear that?" she whispers, almost in tears for fear of what's happened to Lucy. "Oh, god, it was them."

Alec rushes into Headquarters, with Max on his heels. They run to the Conference room to find Xander and Lucy on the ground, him covering her in attempt to protect her from the flying objects in the room. The light is too much to bear, and they look away as it falls to black. 

Silence permeates the air, the smell of burning and she sound of Lucy's murmured cries filling the senses. "Call the Knights. We need help." Max orders, her voice soft with tears yet harsh with anger. She starts checking to see where Lucy's injuries end and Xander's begin, and Alec picks up a phone, calling Dix.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TC 'Dance Hall'

The music, once blaring, fades out to a quiet drone, and the sound of an anguished scream floats through the air. All at once power cuts out, causing everyone to ask "What the Hell?". They, being Manticore, file out of the 'Dance Hall' in a very orderly, but still confused way.

Dix hears a ring, and knows it's him. ~what else could explain this than Sandeman's doing. The big one, not the little one~ he adds, answering. "Alec, what's wrong?"

"It's the Familiars. They sabatoged Lucy with a video. We don't know what it's of, but she caused quite a bit of damage. We need the Knights and some medics, ASAP. Hurry, Dix." he orders, and Dix whistles loudly.

"Okay, Mole, Joshua, Sandy, Biggs, CeCe and two medics get your asses over to HQ with supplies. NOW!" he bellows, and they all follow orders, the rest heading home. When Dix gets mad, when he rarely does, you do what he says.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HQ

Everyone called to HQ runs through the doors, stopping at the sight they see. Lucy lies on a cleared off desk, Alec holding her down as she thrashes and cries. Max shakes Xander, who's on another desk. Both are bloody, and look like they've been through hell. Which, in Lucy's case, is quite true.

"Xander, Xander, wake up!" Max yells, shaking his shoulders. Sandy cleans up Xander's face, sending worried looks over to Lucy.

Lucy continues sobbing, lost in her own world that no one can seem to wake her from. ~If we get Xander, maybe he can get Lucy.~ Max theorizes, shaking him again. 

He moves his head groggily, opening his eyes to the now-lit HQ. "Lucy, where is she, where's my Lucy? Is she hurt? Oh, god, is she all right?" he asks, jumping up a little to fast for having a concussion. She grabs his arm to keep him up. "Oh, god...Lucy." he whispers, running to her makeshift bedside as one of the medics cleans up her cuts.

He motions the med, Neil, to move, and scoops her into his arms, holding her close. "Come on, Lucy. Wake up, please. I need you to be okay." he whispers, and the others step into another room to give him space, Neil leaving the med kit behind so that Xander could finish up. "I need you to be okay."

Her cries die down a bit, and he rocks her slowly, wishing that she would never have been through that hurt, that she would never have met White. "You're so perfect, Lucy. You hhave to wake up...please." he pleads, his eyes filling up with tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dream Sequence, um..Lucy's subconscious(duh)

Lucy 'awakes' to find herself in a long, familiar corridor. She runs to the door she's visited so often, ignoring the sign written in French, telling her to stay out, that it's private. The Manticore symbol is etched onto the doorknob, and Lucy rubs it for luck, like she used to as a child.

She swings the door open, expecting to find the room empty and bare, but instead finds it filled with bookcases and rugs, and an old man looking out the window, holding a walking stick. He looks at her, smiling happily at seeing his grandchild for the first time since she was a child. "Hello, Lucy, dear. I've been waiting for you." he tells her, greeting her with a hug.

"Papaw? What are you doing here?" Lucy asks, confusedly. "I thought you were in France now, hiding." 

"I am, but this is something special. It requires a lot of power, and I only do it when I need to. We're on the Astral Plane now, Luce. I need you to know some things. Things that you will need to win the war." he says, pulling away and motioning for her to sit down next to him on the window seat. 

"What war, Papaw? What are you talking about?" she asks, utterly confused about all of this. ~So wait, let me get this straight- I'm sitting in a room I played in when I was five and talking to a man who's an ocean away about a war that isn't happening? Oh yeah, I'm _so_ being sent to an asylum when I wake up.~

"The Transgenic/Familiar war. We need to stop it from happening. You do. You are The Key, Sweetheart." he says tenderly, his icy blue eyes staring kindly into hers, proud of the woman she's become. "Remember how I always told you that you were different? That you were special?" he asks, and Lucy nods, remembering rolling her eyes and blushing when he told her about her 'specialness.' "Well, you are why I made Manticore. You and I, we have powers like nobody else. Powers that we can use to get rid of the Familiars. Will you help me, Lucy dear?" 

Lucy nods, knowing that it is her destiny. "Yes, I will. I'll do whatever I can to help you. Just tell me what to do." she says, a defiant look in her eye. ~So much like her mother.~ Sandeman thinks sadly.

"When you wake up, tell Max and Alec that the Familiars are coming. Then go to the roof. It started raining out after you fell asleep, dear, so wear something warm." he says, grandfatherly instincts taking over. Lucy grins, missing having family around. "You'll know what to do then, sweetheart. Follow your instincts, follow your heart, and you will prevail. I promise you." he assures her, handing her a slip of paper and closing her palm around it. "Now, no looking at that until later. Promise?" he asks her, his eyes twinkling mysteriously. She nods, smiling at the old tradition. He holds out his pinky, and she links hers with his.

"Lucy, I want you to know three things. One: you are not at fault for your family's deaths. They weren't killed because of your powers, but because I betrayed the Conclave. They wanted to break you. Don't believe Ames. He is a very, very evil man. Who could hurt his own niece like he did to you?" he whispers, tears threatening to fall as he thinks of how far his son has fallen. 

"Niece? I'm related to him?" she asks, tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of hurting family. 

"Yes, and he has fallen as far as you can. He is still trapped by the Conclave. You remember the stories I told you when you were little. Those are true, sweetie. All of them. And the champion? She's you, Lucy. You are our champion.

Two. You aren't alone in this, dear. There are many who will fight alongside you. Don't ever fear that you are alone. You aren't. You have people that love you in Terminal City, and I am traveling to Seattle as fast as I can, dear. But the Conclave is still looking for me, and my family. I am sorry they've hurt you, my Lucy. But you were strong, and I'm so proud of you.

Three. Lucy, that boy is head over heels for you, and I know that you adore him, too. Don't let him go. Love isn't supposed to be a fairytale, so if things don't seem perfect, that's the way they're meant to be." he advises her, and a tear falls to the ground, hitting the hardwood floor silently. 

"Thanks, Papaw. Hurry, please." Lucy whispers, hugging him tightly.

"I will, my dear. I will. I have to go now, though. My power is draining, and I need it to help keep an eye on everything." he says, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "Just remember that I love you, dear. And don't forget-no peeking." he whispers, and the dreams fades away, leaving Lucy alone in the endless corridor.

"Noo....Papaw, don't leave me here...please." she cries, falling to her knees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HQ

Everyone called to HQ runs through the doors, stopping at the sight they see. Lucy lies on a cleared off desk, Alec holding her down as she thrashes and cries. Max shakes Xander, who's on another desk. Both are bloody, and look like they've been through hell. Which, in Lucy's case, is quite true.

"Xander, Xander, wake up!" Max yells, shaking his shoulders. Sandy cleans up Xander's face, sending worried looks over to Lucy.

Lucy continues sobbing, lost in her own world that no one can seem to wake her from. ~If we get Xander, maybe he can get Lucy.~ Max theorizes, shaking him again. 

He moves his head groggily, opening his eyes to the now-lit HQ. "Lucy, where is she, where's my Lucy? Is she hurt? Oh, god, is she all right?" he asks, jumping up a little to fast for having a concussion. She grabs his arm to keep him up. "Oh, god...Lucy." he whispers, running to her makeshift bedside as one of the medics cleans up her cuts.

He motions the med, Neil, to move, and scoops her into his arms, holding her close. "Come on, Lucy. Wake up, please. I need you to be okay." he whispers, and the others step into another room to give him space, Neil leaving the med kit behind so that Xander could finish up. "I need you to be okay."

Her cries die down a bit, and he rocks her slowly, wishing that she would never have been through that hurt, that she would never have met White. "You're so perfect, Lucy. You hhave to wake up...please." he pleads, his eyes filling up with tears.

Suddenly, the air around him feels different, charged almost. He looks down at Lucy, who's stopped crying now.

Her eyes fly open, revealing those beautiful, unforgettable blue eyes that he loves. "Lucy, you're back." he cries, hugging her tightly. She kisses him, happy to be back, but a little weak from the show of power.

"Where's Max and Alec? I need to talk to them, and everyone who they trust, as well. Now." she says hurriedly, looking around frantically. He points to where they all sit in the corner, and Lucy tries to get up, a little wobbly.

"I'll get them." he says, and two minutes later she's surrounded by people. 

"The Familiars are coming. It' gonna be big. Global, even." she starts, feeling stupid. "How do I know this? Okay, here's the freak-tastic part- when I was out? Yeah, kind on the Astral Plane. I saw my grandfather there, and he told me that they're coming. They want to start a war. And we need to stop them." she says, remembering the paper and opening her palm.

"He gave me this. I don't know what it is-he made me pinky promise not to read it until I woke up." she says, feeling a little less freaked as Xander sits next to her and wraps his arm around her. She moves as close as she can get to him, finding comfort in his touch.

She unfolds the paper and starts reading. "To All My Children: Ah, how I have missed you. I am on my way to you as we speak, but I will not be able to join you in time, I fear. But do not worry, as I have told my Lucy, we will win the war. 

I made you each for a specific duty. You are all special, and we will need all of your help. Be prepared, Children. The Familiars are strong, and you may need to fight. Lucy is your leader, your general. Listen to her. Fight strong, children, and just let Lucy do what I've told her to.

Father" she finishes, leaving everyone in the room stunned.

"So, what did he tell you to do?" asks Alec, already formulating battle positions.

"Follow my instincts." she whispers, trying to remember the stories that Papaw told her. "Okay, guys, the Familiar army surrounds enemies by going for the pentagram technique- it goes from five sides. The main point of their entry, though, will be the right side. It is the traditional Patriarchal side, so they think that it's lucky." she says, surprising them all with her knowledge of Familiar warfare. "What, can't a normal girl know a little warfare, too?" she laughs, then clears her throat when nobody else does. "Okay, so not funny, but can we get the others already?" 

"I'm on it." Alec says, walking to another side of the room and pulling an alarm- a high pitched noise above the level of human hearing, but still in the transgenic range.

"So, we need soldiers guarding all sides, but that especially. Since they can't feel pain, I'd just go for the kill instead of waiting it out with hand to hand. I mean, gruesome and all, but they're evil, so it's excusable." she says, pondering it for a minute, thinking about her very own uncle who had a thing for 'Pointy Weapon Time.' "Oh, yeah, definitely excusable. In fact, almost humanitarian-esque of us, if you really think about it." 

Alec walks back to the group to find a still talking Lucy, and grins. ~If I didn't know better, by the way she's giving out military orders, I'd say that she's Manticore.~ he muses, walking into the circle around her bed.

"Troops are on the way, Sarge." he teases her, and she smirks.

"That's enough of that lip, soldier." she barks, then giggles, ruining the whole 'grrr' look that she had been going for.

People start filing in, and Lucy gets off of the desk, hobbling over to the center of HQ and waiting for everyone to come. When just about all of the resident transgenics are in a now very crowded HQ, she begins to speak, Xander, Max, Alec, and the rest at her side.

"Two weeks ago I was alone, just another girl in a broken world, trying to get by, trying not to be found. Then White found me- again. He hurt me- not an unusual thing for him to do, seeing his anger level is apparently high," she jokes, getting a few laughs. But then her face sobers, and she continues, "But unusual for family to hurt each other that bad. You see, my name is Lucy Sandeman. My grandfather founded Manticore so that we could stop the Coming. So that we can save humanity. I know, big job and all that, but it's destiny. Our destiny." she says, transgenics listening to her, taking the bubbly teenage girl as their leader. "We need to fight the good fight, protect our people, and let them know that we're here. For good. Now who's with me?" she asks, putting her fist in the air. All of the people at her side do, and everyone in the crowd slowly lifts up their fists.

"Let's do this." she yells, and the crowd roars back. ~Just hurry, Papaw. Just hurry.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed- you guys kick some major ass. I'm only planning on like two more chapters after this, so please review me if you haven't yet, and tell me what you think of it. Also, please tell me if you'd be interested in reading a sequel- I'm thinking of one and don't know if I should.

Dark Angel is not mine, as sad as that is. *puppy dog lip* Oh, well, I have Lucy and Xander.

Thanks again, guys- you kick!

Molly jeane :D


	12. The Key

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Wooded area outside Seattle

A line of twelve people walk slowly to a giant symbol of the Conclave that's burnt into the ground. The grass smells sweet here, too pure to be worthy of the Conclave. The burnt stench rises above the ground as they form a circle around the symbol, waiting for the elegantly robed girl to awake.

They hold their breaths without meaning to, the way somebody does when you're playing hide-and-seek and 'It' is near you. She lays on a dark, almost black wood altar, as still as death itself. They watch her, silently awing in her beauty. She is just a teenager, but they're forcing her to end all human kind- the stress doesn't wear on her beauty, though. 

Her long raven hair falls in soft waves to her waist, where the seam of her old-fashioned, corseted black top that's adorned with maroon ribbons meets the long, flowy, poofy black and maroon skirt. High cheekbones lend her an air of elegance, and her nose softly turns up a bit at the end. 

Her eyes open slowly, and she looks around groggily, wondering how the hell she got sucked into this mess. ~Two weeks ago I was just your average, every day teenager who happened to be an orphan who was immune to pain. Now, I'm dressed up like a vampire and the main event for some whacked-out cult planning on ending mankind. Great, just great!~ 

She tries to sit up, but is bound to the altar with black leather. ~Well, you got to hand it to whoever designed this ceremony- they sure do know how to color-coordinate~ she muses, trying to pull the restraints off.

She licks her lips out of nervousness, spitting in disgust to discover that it's not lipstick, but blood painted on her lips. ~What the hell else do I have on? And who's blood was that? Oh, dear...~

The cult-goddess rises from kneeling in the circle around the altar, and begins to chant a song in a foreign, forgotten language. The girl's heartbeat spikes out of nervousness as all of the loonies dance around her, singing the forboding words about impending doom and bloodshed. 

The priestess twirls around, taking a knife out of a hidden sheath and raising it above the girl. "No, no, please...I'm sure you can end mankind without hurting me, really!" the girl cries out, watching the light glint in warning off the cool metal knife.

All of a sudden the cult members all grab their heads, in sync in their pain. For the first time, the word pain affects them, and they cry out with hurt. A man runs down from the hills, knocking the members unconscious with a very handy bat and untying the sacrifice-childe.

"Um...who are you?" the girl asks, bewildered beyond belief by now, and understandably so.

"A friend of the family." he tells her mysteriously, his blue eyes glinting in happiness.

~Those eyes look familiar...~ the girl thinks, observing him scrutinizingly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TC, Headquarters

"You all be ready to fight, ok? I'm going to do my best to end this without involving the troops, but just be ready." Lucy tells the core group as they get ready. They nod.

She turns to Xander, her eyes filling with tears. "Babe, promise me you'll be ok?" she asks, hugging him for comfort.

"I'll try, Luce. Just tell me that you'll be all right." he says, kissing the top of her head.

"I'll do my best, Xan...I swear. Just save me the last dance, all right?" Lucy asks, looking up at him with big blue eyes filled with determination.

"Already done, babe. But I just have one thing to say- you find out you're meant to save the world, and you're still mad that you didn't end up going to the dance?" he asks, smirking that patented smirk that Lucy can't get enough of.

"Hey, I got all dolled up for nothing, mister!" she says, pouting. Xander takes in her now sopping, tangled curls, scorched and ripped dress, and bare feet (the sandals were lost a while ago). ~She's so beautiful.~

"And you look great, too." he says, holding her tighter as Alec motions for him to go over by the troops. "I love you, Luce." he says, kissing her softly.

"I love you too, Xander. You know that, don't you?" Lucy tells him, kissing him again.

"Yeah, I do. Now, when you go for your Superhero of the Year Award, just remember to thank all the little people." he says wryly. "And don't forget to wear a coat, darlin'. It's cold!" 

"I won't...already had Pepaw remind me." she looks out to the troops, waving a reluctant goodbye. "I'll see ya later, Xander." she assures him as she slides on his borrowed sweater.

"I'll see ya later, Luce." he says, watching as she ascends the steps to the stairs, not knowing if his newfound love will ever return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Headquarters, TC. 

"Okay, everyone. Let's move out!" Alec shouts, and everyone sneaks quietly out of HQ, not a noise floating through all of TC except for the silent sobs of Lucy, standing on the rooftop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Street, TC

Xander looks back at his girl, standing on the rooftop with her arms wrapped around herself. ~You can do it, babe. I know ya can.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Roof, Headquarters, TC

"Follow your instincts. Follow your instincts." Lucy mutters to herself, closing her eyes. "What the hell does that mean?" she starts to ask herself, but she zones out, not Lucy anymore, but The Key, the one who needs to save the earth.

She raises her arms, rain running down her arms and into her hair. She closes her eyes and tilts her head back, letting the rain ready her. A beam of light shoots from her heart, shining light onto all of TC. She levitates slightly off of the ground, then grows farther and farther away from the roof, floating at least three feet high.

Her hair waves slightly in the wind and rain, turning to pure gold silk. Her mouth opens, but no sound comes out. The light around her grows as bright as light can, making the whole of Seattle, for once, bright and sunny. Problem is that it's night.

She raises her uplifted arms over the city, opening her eyes to reveal golden orbs. 

The world stops for a moment, mankind in awe at her beauty, Familiars in pain from the waves of telekinetic pain she stabbed through them, and transgenics finally aware that she is not just Lucy, the mutant-girl-next-door, but some sort of earthly angel, sent by her grandfather to save them all.

But then time returns, as it always does, leaving the human world mystified, the Familiar one dead, and the mutant one scrambling to catch Lucy and keep her safe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: so, whatcha think? Tell me, honestly, if you like it. Or even if not, tell me anyways...pretty please? *puppy dog eyes*

Molly jeane :D


	13. And she sleeps on

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4 days later, Med Center, TC,

A beautiful blonde girl lies on a bed, silenced by the coma that has claimed her consciousness. Her hand is held by that of her love, a boy who hasn't seen the outside of the room, save for the tiny window, since his girlfriend lay here.

In this dark room, the only sound to be heard is that of a hoarse voice talking to the girl, begging her to wake up. He keeps watch over his angel, keeping her safe from the nightmares that he's sure claims her. He can't sleep, for if she wakes while he's gone, he will never forgive himself.

"Luce, it's raining again...if you wake up, I won't even pretend to be mad when you make me stay out and dance in it." Xander tells her, his eyes sore from lack of sleep. "Please, babe, wake up. Please..." he trails off, leaning forward and kissing her forehead.

"I need you, Lucy. Just wake up, ok? Then we can have that dance that I promised you."The door swings open, and Max and Alec walk in, hand in hand. 

"Hey, Xander." Alec says softly, taking in the sight of a battered Lucy lying on the bed. Max, uncomfortable seeing her new surrogate little sister like this, preoccupies herself with rearranging flowers in a vase on the nightstand.

Xander nods a hello, not taking his eyes off his girl. Max and Alec exchange worried glances. "Xander, you need to get some sleep." Max says, patting his shoulder comfortingly. He shakes his head, and she goes into drill Sargent mode. "You listen to me, Xander. When Lucy wakes up, she'll play hell if you aren't rested up enough to talk to her. At least climb in the bed and get some sleep." she says, and he nods softly, bringing his bloodshot, watery green eyes to meet hers.

"Thanks, guys." he says, yawning tiredly. 

"No problem. Just make sure our hero wakes up soon, ok?" Alec asks. 

"Will do." Xander says sleepily as he crawls next to Lucy, barely hearing them walk out of the room over memories of their first meeting. He laces his fingers with hers, and pulls the blanket up further. "I love you, Lucy. Always will."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dream Sequence, Xander's subconscious 

~Where the hell am I?~ Xander wonders, looking up a flight of stairs as music plays softly around him. He looks around, realizing that it's a ballroom. ~Ok, now the question is why the hell am I here?~

"Because I wanted you to be." a voice calls down to him, and he raises his head, running to Lucy's side and hugging her, just needing to hold her, to make sure she's real. He kisses her, happier than anytime he can remember in this moment.

"I missed you so much, Luce." he whispers as they start to slow dance. He leans his forehead against hers.

"I missed you, too." she whispers softly. "I can hear you talk to me, though. I like when you tell me stories." she says, smiling. "My brave little soldier boy."

"I'm glad. Where are we?" he asks, worried for a fleeting moment that they might be dead.

"No, we aren't dead, Xander. I don't know where we are, but I like it now." she tells him. "I'm trying to wake up. I swear. My body just won't let me." she tells him, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"Don't cry, Luce. It's all right, I'm here now." he tells her, pulling her close.

"I have to go...they won't let you stay." she whispers, more tears spilling onto her cheeks. "You have to go back."

"No, I can't." he says sternly. She nods her head, and he leans his head against her shoulder.

"You have to go back to the real world." she says, crying softly. "Don't worry..I'll join you soon."

"Promise?" he asks, and she nods.

"Pinky promise." she says, her hand slipping out of his as some force pulls them apart. The ballroom blurs, and the last thing he sees before his world fuzzes white is Lucy waving to him, wiping away a tear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Med Center, TC

Xander wakes with a start and looks at the clock. 3:48 a.m. He sits up, grabbing a soda that somebody left on the bedside table for him, and taking a swig.

~"I can hear you talk to me, though. I like when you tell me stories."~ Lucy's voice rings through his head. He sits down on the chair next to the bed, holding her hand. 

"Well, there was this one time I went on a mission to the Amazon, and..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HQ, Terminal City

"Max, we got everything we need for the mission tonight." Mole tells her, and she nods, staring into space. He smirks, wanting to see how much he can get away with. "And I have some of the X10's on it." 

"Yup." she mumbles, trying to read the maps but so out of it they're upside-down.

"And I'm taking them out for beer afterwards." he grins, picturing little Bobby slugging 'em down.

"Great." 

"And then we're gonna tell all the human kids that Santa doesn't exist." he laughs, and she looks up, her face wrinkled in confusion.

"What?" she asks, then sighs. "Sorry, I'm just worried about Lucy. I know you'll do great on the mission."

"We're all worried about the kid...she's a fighter, though." Mole says, truly worried about Lucy, the girl who was so nice to him. "She'll be fine, don't like make yourself blow up." he says gruffly, worried about sounding too sentimental and looking around nervously to see who heard.

"Ya think?" she asks, and Alec comes from behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. 

"She'll be fine. Let's go visit her." he tells Max, and they kiss, ignoring the look of surprise from Mole, and the fact that his ever-present cigar drops to the ground, where Joshua picks it up for him.

Mole grabs the cigar from Joshua, still staring at the retreating figures of Max and Alec. "I never thought they'd actually get together." he says, and Joshua laughs, more of a bark than anything.

"We all knew. Lucy made them see it. Not blind anymore." he says, and Mole looks at him like he's just noticed he's there.

"You don't say...hey, wanna play cards?" he asks, and Joshua shakes his head.

"Joshua going to paint Lucy." he says, and Mole nods, walking to a group of X's who were sure to play with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: so, what'd ya think? Tell me, even just to say, 'wow, this wasn't totally nauseating!' I don't care!!!! SO REVIEW...please? *puppy dog lip*

DISCLAIMER: not mine...wait a second *asks Fox networkers, they shake their heads smugly*...okay, so still not mine.

Luv ya!!

Molly Jeane :D


	14. Is it Halloween already?

Lucy's room, TC

"Hey, buddy, how ya holding up?" Alec asks Xander, who looks at him like he's just realized he's there.

"All right... god, it's so hard seeing her this way. I just want her back." he says, his voice cracking a little. Alec pats his arm, and Max gives him a quick Max-style hug - one that is short, and not really worth being called a hug.

"Max, Alec, you guys better come down to HQ. Someone's looking for Lucy, and Mole's about to kill him." Luke says cheerfully over the com, his voice filtering through the static into the now seemingly-crowded room.

Max and Alec look at Xander, who's concern for his girl shows clearly on his face. "Sandeman?" he asks softly, and Lucy's hand twitches in his. His eyes go wide, and he grins at the mere thought of her waking up.

"We'll go take care of it. If it's him, we'll get him security clearance so Mole doesn't really kill him, and we'll be back pretty soon." Alec tells Xander, who nods dumbly as they exit the room, Alec's arm keeping Max close to him.

"Ok, Luce, your grandfather's here. He's coming in a minute, so if you wake up, you can see him." he tells her, receiving a slight movement from her head, but nothing else. "Ok, it's progress..."

HQ

"No way in hell you're seeing her, buddy. You could be some crazy psycho who's trying to kill her, and we don't even know if she wants you here, assuming you're even good. No way." Mole says gruffly to the old man as Max and Alec walk into the room, still in the same almost sickeningly sweet (to those of us who aren't all in love), couple-y pose.

"I am her grandfather, and I need to see her. I need to give her a surprise-" he tries to explain, but Mole interrupts.

"Would that surprise be a bullet in the head, perhaps?" he almost yells, and Alec rolls his eyes at the lizard's protectiveness of Lucy. Though, it does show his not-too-often-seen human side. Then again, when you're a 5'9 lizard, how much of a human side do you really have?

"No! She's my granddaughter, I would never think to do that. Please, allow us to see her." he says, exasperated at the lizard-man's bullheadedness. "I knew I shouldn't have made you so stubborn." he says, pinching the bridge of his nose as Max intervenes, stepping out of Alec's arms and into the fray.

"Mole, he's alright. Lucy does know him, I swear." Max says, blocking Sandeman from Mole's line of sight, just in case looks really can kill.

"Fine, but what about her?" he asks, pointing to a girl who's standing behind Sandeman, and dressed in what looks ridiculously close to a Halloween-costumed vampire.

"She's the surprise for Lucy- her sister." Sandeman says, and Max and Alec gape at her. She adjusts her skirt self-consciously.

"Um, hi." she says quietly, not liking having almost everyone in Headquarters staring at her.

Alec recovers first, closing Max's mouth for her and shaking his head as to clear it from the thought-fog. "Wait, wait wait. Uh, Lucy's family was brutally murdered. And unless she really is a vampire, then that isn't her sister." he says, and Lucy's supposed sister looks up, then goes back to chipping off her black nail polish with a sneer..

"Oh, contraire. The Familiars kidnapped her when she was 5 and put her in an orphanage where they could keep track of her." he explains, staring proudly at his granddaughter. She flashes him a quick smile- Lucy's smile, to be exact. Max gives her a once-over, trying to decide if Sandeman's claim is true or not. She has long, black hair,and hazel eyes, but other than that, is almost identical to Lucy. Sure, this girl has fuller lips and is a bit skinnier, but other than mild differences, there's no telling them apart.

"Yeah, but why didn't they kill her? Um, no offense." Alec hastily adds, and the girl shrugs.

"You see-" Sandeman starts, but the girl interrupts him.

"Wait. I want to tell this part, if that's ok. God knows that I need an opportunity to redeem myself from this Halloween costume." she tells her grandfather, rolling her eyes as she pulls the top up. He nods, and she turns back to Alec, Max, and the small crowd who've gathered. "Any of you physics buffs?" she asks, and a few hands go up. She nods. "Well, then you know that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, right?" she asks, and a couple people in the crowd nod.

"Well, my grandfather is a mutant. Lucy and I are the reactions to that. She is the equal one, meaning that she has the power to stop the Coming, and I am the opposite reaction- yup, that's right, those loonies needed me to start the Coming. And y'all know how much bad guys like these stupid getups." she sighs, tugging down the skirt that's trying to ride up to her chest, and is digging underneath that sadistic corset of hers. "God, I feel like I'm in a demented comic book."

"Oh, sorry. Got sidetracked." she apologizes, and Max and Alec smile at each other, noticing that both Lucy and her sister have the tendency to ramble. "Anyway, any questions?" she asks, and no one answers. "Good. Now can I go see my sister? We need to catch up."

"This way." Max says, motioning them to follow and ignoring the death glare that Mole sends her way. The girl follows Max, as does Sandeman. As soon as Max is out of his glare-zone, he turns to Lucy's sister, who rolls her eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm glad you want to keep my sister safe and all, but why in hell would I want to kill my twin?" she asks him, and he gapes at her. Not many people talk back to giant, very grumpy lizard-men.

Alec just smirks, happy to have one more person who isn't scared of Mole. Can always use some more of those...wait! Twin? Lucy never said that....

They head over to the Med Center, Lucy's sister and grandfather in tow. Lucy's sister looks around nervously, twisting her hands in a nervous habit and keeping her eyes to the ground. Alec studies her, noticing how apprehensive about seeing Lucy she is.

He continues to study her, and suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she turns around. "Look, I know I'm Lucy's twin, and big surprise for you. But can you stop staring at me?" she asks, slightly irritated. Then her gaze turns frightful, and she mumbles a "Sorry."

"It's fine. I was staring at you. It's just...well, we thought that Lucy's whole family had died." he explains, and her eyes harden a bit, a mask going up.

"Yeah, me too." she says, and turns around, walking quickly to catch up with her grandfather. Alec just stands there, his mouth slightly open, until Max motions for him to catch up.

Lucy's room, Med Center

The door swings open, and Xander looks up, startled to see a girl who looks almost exactly like Lucy following Max and Alec. An old man follows, leaning slightly on a cane with the Manticore symbol on it. Xander stares at it, and the old man covers the symbol with his palm.

The girl just stares at Lucy, her stomach wrenching almost painfully at seeing her twin sister in a coma. She walks up to her, and Xander backs away so that she can get in. The room fades away to her, and she takes her sister's hand. "Um, hi LuceBear." she tells Lucy, using their childhood nicknames for each other. "It's HollDoll. I know, you probably think I'm decomposing in a ditch somewhere, but I'm right here. The Familiars were the ones who took me. I thought you were dead." she tells Luce, her voice cracking a little with emotion. "Just wake up, okay? Please...I need you here." she tells her, a tear escaping and falling down her cheek.

She backs away, running into Max's shoulder, her eyes never leaving Lucy's face. "Excuse me." she whispers, bolting away with speed that some transgenics would envy. Max and Alec try to run after her, but she's already gone by the time they get outside. What the hell

Holly runs down the hallway, turning into the nearest stairwell and climbing up the stairs, needing height to help keep her thoughts straight. Her hand grips the dusty rail tightly, and she hurries to the top of the building in hopes that she won't be followed.

The door's metal, and slightly rusted. She kicks it hard, and it swings open easily. Well, good way to get rid of my anger. she muses, moving to the edge of the building and looking over the city. Half-finished buildings covered in graffiti litter the skyline, but the Space Needle stands out above the rest, the once pride and joy of the city now dark and slightly decomposing, but still just as dominant on the horizon.

She closes her eyes, letting the wind whip her skirt around wildly, just trying to gain some sense of being calm. She takes a deep breath and sits down, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them and trying desperately to hide from the world that's only hurt her. And she's doing a pretty good job...then she hears the footsteps.

"Hey, are you all right?" Holly stands up, brushing herself off and turning her gaze to where the voice came from. A boy about her age (that is to say 16 or 17) stands there, his light brown hair being blown every which way, blue eyes full of concern. She sighs, and lifts her eyes to meet his.

"Not especially." she tells him, trying to laugh it off. "But then again, fate hates me, so no big surprise there." She sits down, and continues to stare out at the city, willing him to go away. But he doesn't. He sits down next to her, determined to stay until he's sure she's alright.

"I'm John. And you are?" he says, trying to place where he's seen her before.

"Holly. I'm Lucy's sister, that's probably why I look familiar, if I do." she says, cringing at the word "familiar" "Ok, I am never going to use that word again." she promises, making a face.

"Yeah, not a lot of people liked the Familiars. But they're dead, so I guess it doesn't really matter." he muses, shrugging it off. She looks at him, a slow smile spreading across her face in realization.

"I always knew that Mrs. Hagen would get hers." she says, explaining further at his confused look. "She was this total bitch at the orph...where I used to live." she corrects herself, and he nods, not really buying her story but letting it slide.

"Yeah, bad guys suck." he says, and she nods, nothing making more sense to her than that statement. He looks at her, smirking playfully. "But at least the hero always gets the girl." he says, and she swats him on the shoulder. "Hey, I was just kidding!" he protests, and she grins.

"Sexist." she says, sticking out her tongue in false-anger, but really just glad to have someone to talk to instead of having to think about all the shit in her life. "Then again, you are male, and a prisoner of your genes, so maybe I'll let this one slide." she tells him, staring again into the city as memories of her childhood come floating to the surface of her memory.

"Thanks." he says, and, seeing the hurt on her face, moves a little closer, hoping that his body heat will somehow be of comfort to her in the cold air. "So, you never did tell me what's wrong."

"Everything." she groans, "I just found out that the family I was kidnapped from and told had died in a car accident didn't really die when I was five...they were killed only a short time ago. I could've still been with them." she says, hitting the ground with her fist, ignoring the blood that comes to her knuckles. "My twin, Luce, who I have spent 11 years mourning, is alive and well, but she's in a coma, and I'm scared that she won't wake up. Oh, did I mention I'm the Key that starts the Coming?" she cries, and John's eyes widen. "I told the Familiars that they didn't have to kill me to end the world, but they would've, but then my estranged, in-hiding grandfather who made all the transgenics saved me. Ugh, and don't even get me started on this outfit." she finishes, looking with disgust at her outfit.

"I'm sure I can find some clothes for you to wear." he says, and the smile that he gets is more rewarding than any of the hostage-situations he's ever ended, all put together.

"That would be great. But, um, we should probably find my grandfather. He's a worrier." she explains, shrugging as she gets up.

"They're probably still with your sister. You ready to see her again?" he asks, and she shakes her head no. "Understandable. I don't think I'd be ready for it, either. Come on," he says, and they walk down the stairs, back to the room that Holly just fled.

And so life goes, trying to grasp new concepts while trying not to forget the past. Quite a predicament. But that's what makes it so worthwhile- the challenge, the fact that it's not always easy. In fact, it almost never is.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

So, whatcha think? Like it, hate it? Was it a good twist, or predictable? Tell me!!! please review, and tell me what you want to see, and I'll try to incorporate it into my story! And keep on reading, guys! You make this worthwhile...you rock my socks!

Luv ya forever,

molly jeane :D


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